#rolling stone africa

[thatrickmcginnis]

FELA KUTI Toronto 1989

Even though it went unpublished anywhere for over twenty-five years, my 1989 portrait sitting with Nigerian musical legend Fela Kuti is probably one of my most important shoots. It happened because, to put it plainly, I wanted it to happen, and did my level best to make it happen. I was a fan and had photographed Fela at a press conference here in 1987, doing publicity for a concert that ended up not happening for two more years. I was in a bit of a lacuna in my career when a new concert was announced, first at a soccer stadium not far from where I lived, before it was moved to the old Masonic Temple downtown, also known as the Concert Hall. I wasn’t shooting regularly for any publication at the time, so I was working strictly on spec when I contacted Gary Froude, the promoter of the show, to see if I could get permission not just to photograph the concert but possibly a few minutes for a portrait sitting. To my surprise he said yes.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti was born to a prosperous family in Nigeria in 1938 and made his name with Africa 70, his first big band, attracting the attention of musicians like Ginger Baker and Paul McCartney. He also became a vocal opponent of Nigeria’s government, criticizing them as he recorded prolifically, on albums like Confusion, Expensive Shit, Zombie, No Agreement and many others. In 1977 his Lagos compound was raided; Fela as beaten severely and his mother was fatally injured when she was thrown out a window. By the end of the decade he’d formed a new band, Egypt 80, and began releasing records like Army Arrangement and Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense on labels in Europe and America. The Nigerian government jailed him on charges of currency smuggling in 1984, and in 1986 he performed at an Amnesty International concert in Giants Stadium. But ticket sales for his show in Toronto in 1989 were slow, forcing it to be moved to a smaller venue; I’m not sure the promoter made any money on it, but I remember it as one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

I showed up to photography Fela Kuti around soundcheck and set up my modest lighting in a big dressing room in the basement of the Concert Hall on Yonge Street. Most of all I remember that Fela was one of the most intimidating men I have ever met, and that we began the portrait sitting with a series of rather straightforward shots on my Mamiya C330 camera. After finishing a roll Fela signaled for a break; he stretched out on a couch and began smoking the largest joint I had seen in my life for over a half hour. When the portrait session resumed he was, as I once wrote, rather heroically stoned, and these photos were far looser, as Fela glowered and pulled at his face. I’ve included every worthwhile frame I shot that afternoon on this post – the first time many of these shots have ever been published. Fela Kuti died of complications from AIDS in 1997.

I returned that night to shoot the show, going through several rolls of colour and black and white film, after which everything sat in my files for over two decades until I posted a few shots on my old blog. They came to the attention of Rikki Stein, Fela’s onetime manager, who arranged for them to appear for the first time in a 2017 box set of Fela’s records curated by Erykah Badu. Since then my Fela shots have been reprinted frequently; they were featured as part of a nightclub set on the Netflix reboot of the prime time soap Dynasty, on a line of t-shirts made by Carhartt, and in a Fela exhibit in Paris in 2023. Last year one of my live shots of Fela was on the cover of the debut issue of Rolling Stone Africa, which felt like vindication for that spec shoot I’d begged to do almost four decades ago. (Though I still wish they’d gone with one of these portraits.)

[euginemicah]

9 Southern African Songs to Add to Your New Year’s Playlist - Rolling Stone Africa

Kicking things off with a serious party banger from South Africa, “Skuta Baba” is a track you’ve probably heard by now, but it’s impossible to get tired of it. The remix, featuring heavyweights like Cassper Nyovest, Buzzi Lee, Tony Dayimane, Kane Keid and Kwesta, has taken over TikTok and dance floors alike. With its bouncy, infectious beat, this song is the ultimate crowd-puller. The energy…

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me 1983

"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song recorded and written by American singer Rockwell, released by the Motown label in December 1983, as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. It features guest vocals by Michael Jackson in the chorus and Jermaine Jackson as additional backing vocals. The song became a major commercial success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Spain, and reaching the top 5 in Canada, West Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US. In the UK, it reached number 6 and is Rockwell's only top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart. Rolling Stone magazine called the song "an international and enduring smash hit that, more than 30 years later, remains the perennial paranoia-rock anthem and Halloween mix go-to song."

Rockwell is a son of Motown CEO Berry Gordy. At the time of the recording, Rockwell was estranged from his father and living with Gordy's ex-wife Ray Singleton. Singleton served as executive producer on the project and would occasionally play demo tracks to Berry Gordy, who was less than enthusiastic about Rockwell's music until he heard the single with Michael Jackson's familiar voice featuring prominently on background vocals.

"Somebody's Watching Me" received a total of 88,3% yes votes!

[apdreadful]

Anyone saying that Tommy is just convenient, he’s just a stepping stone, or Buck is confused and projecting his feelings for Eddie onto Tommy. Denial is not a river in Africa.

Buck didn’t just roll out of bed one morning and decide “I am declaring myself to be bisexual! And starting today, I’m looking for a guy”

Buck has ALWAYS been bisexual. So the whole time we have known Evan Buckley, he has been attracted to men.

However, it’s very likely had never really sat with and processed what to do about that attraction prior to meeting Tommy. Never acted on it prior to Tommy. Never made it as obvious to anyone before Tommy.

In retrospect, the signs were definitely there, before Tommy.

The catalyst for the change? Is Tommy.

He made the conscious decision to go see Tommy when he had no damn reason to. He wasn’t thinking of leaving the 118, he just wanted a reason to see him again. I don’t think Buck actively processing “I want to date this man” he just wanted “something” and Tommy was part of that something. But he had no damn idea how to get his brain wrapped around what exactly he was planning to do with those feelings “Huh, this is more…what do I do now?” Hence the basketball game.

And I don’t know if it was before Tommy came over or if seeing Tommy standing there in his apartment made those pieces finally click into place for Buck.

(Personally I’m leaning toward that “Well not at the same time” response to teaching him Muay Thai. Because there was no mistaking THAT look that Tommy gave him)

Because if you have ever been into someone and are even the tiniest bit queer, you saw that dance for exactly what it was.

The subtle signs, the shifting in atmosphere, the carefully chosen words, way their bodies started mirroring each other as they moved closer.

Tommy having more experience with this dance, started getting the inkling this may be going SOMEWHERE...So he took that chance and dropped the “Well probably not at the same time”with THAT look. That look was a whole sentence.

Now Buck’s awakening bisexuality, understood that look. And those butterflies starting flying and he stepped right up and said “I have been trying to get your attention”

He decided THIS man. Right here. Is the one that I want enough- choose to just lay it all out for.

Now for any baby bi THAT is a big damn leap. Because you think you know..But you don’t have the experience to know if you’re reading the signs right.

Brass Tacks my lovelies is..

Buck wanted Tommy..he wasn’t entirely sure for what. But he knew it was Tommy specifically.

And if you think he’s projecting his feelings about Eddie onto Tommy. Go back and look at that first episode Eddie shows up at the 118 in.

Buck wanted to be in that firefighter calendar, and he saw Eddie as competition to getting that which he wanted. Eddie was his competition. Did he recognize that he was competition because he also looked hot af?

Yep.

So when Tommy catches Bucks interest, once again Buck finds himself in competition against Eddie for the thing he wants, which this time is Tommy’s attention. And because Eddie is his best friend, and he knows Eddie is awesome. In Bucks head, Eddie is worthy competition for Tommy’s attention. It doesn’t matter that Eddie isn’t interested in Tommy the same way Buck is.

If it were Eddie that Buck really wanted, why tf hadn’t he asked Eddie to teach him Muay Thai? They’ve been friends for years. Why had Buck not been interested in the basketball game prior to Tommy’s appearance??

Buck is bi. And it was the hot dish casserole that is Tommy Kinard that made all those little “huh” moments click into “well that’s makes sense” place.

So stop playing at being flat earthers.

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

When 28-year old B-movie star and photojournalist Sean Flynn disappeared on April 6, 1970, his mother left his apartment untouched for over 20 years in hopes her son would someday return.

He was the son of Errol Flynn and the French actress Lili Damita, yet unlike his father, he was less of a hellraiser and more soft-spoken and introverted, but had an obsession with danger and thrill-seeking just the same.

Sean’s Parisian apartment on the Champs Élysées was sealed by his mother to preserve his memory and remained a time capsule of the 60s until it was opened up after the death of Lili in 1994.

The walls were plastered with images of counterculture figures such as Jimi Hendrix, Che Guevara, and Ho Chi Minh, pictures of Sean travelling around the world as well as skydiving and hunting, copious amounts of taxidermy, a miniature of the Zaca (his father Errol Flynn’s yacht), expensive camera equipment, books, rolls of undeveloped film, psychedelic-patterned ties, unopened mail, and snappy clothing.

Sun Day magazine described the apartment as a “weird mixture of 60s flower power and very gruesome souvenirs” from his stint as a game hunter in Africa.

After moving to Europe to start an acting career and recording a music album, Sean grew bored and went to Vietnam in 1966 to risk his life by becoming a combat photojournalist. His images were published around the world and he helped save an Australian platoon from being blown up by a mine, as well as numerous other brave acts.

Yet Sean’s bravado would cost him dearly when he and fellow journalist Dana Stone disappeared in 1970 after being kidnapped at a military checkpoint near Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after which they were most likely held captive for years and then killed by the Khmer Rouge in 1973.

His mother Lili Damita spent millions of dollars and the rest of her life desperately searching for her son, but it was of no use. Sean’s tragic fate remains a hazy mystery to this day.

[mutual-vigilance]

The Traveller and the Tyrant

This is my honest review and critique of the Witness's characterisation. I would ask you to "enjoy", but, considering its themes and the fact that it is over 3,700 words long, perhaps a better phrase would be: "you have been warned."

When I loaded into Excision last week, I was immediately struck by the opening cutscene’s resemblance to the final, climactic battle of The Lord of the Rings, where the steadfast commander of humanity gave a rousing speech to his allied troops before bravely charging forward into the shambling mass of deformed, mutated enemy foot-soldiers, all under the shadow of a monolithic tower, the abode of the ultimate villain of the story. This was nearly enough to make me tune out, and, alas, what followed was not much better.

I have myriad complaints about the Witness’s portrayal in Destiny, and this cinematic is as good a place as any to begin. I do not think the introduction to Excision was fitting for the end of the Light and Darkness saga. Throughout the series, we have fought off a number of escalating threats, beginning with opportunistic Eliksni scavengers, and ending with a being that can end the universe itself. I do not think that a horde of Scorn ought to be the best this being can come up with for its final stand. I would have preferred to see it bend reality, drag us into the arm-tunnel shown in the trailer, shatter an allied warship on the spot, do anything, anything other than tread the worn war-paths of Sauron and his hundreds of imitators in various works of fantasy. First, because this is science fantasy after all, and second, because many of those themes are deeply rooted in xenophobia, unfitting for our current day and age.

The visual designs of the Witness itself and its precursors draw heavily from the historical and present cultures of southwest Asia and north Africa. Their monumental structures of stone evoke the architecture of the region. Their tetrahedral ships remind one of the Egyptian pyramids, and their murals, of the intricate paintings in buried tombs. They are said to hail from the sandy desert. The precursor aliens covered their heads and sometimes entire bodies in cloth; the concept art clearly contains sketches based on humans who dress this way, in burqas; and even the Witness is clad in a long, black robe that hides its lower face, showing only its dark, single brow and dark eyes. I could go on, but I believe I have said enough to back up my next statement: It was not a wise decision to base this particular sci-fi faction on the peoples of the Levant.

The Witness’s army of Scorn is portrayed as a savage horde, in stark contrast to humanity and our allies. The Scorn don’t even have guns. They have crossbows and torches, yet they are a deadly threat to our shining ships. We are told that our enemy is magnitudes more powerful than us, but we are shown that its troops hail from the Bronze Age. Why is the Witness not allowed to demonstrate its technological or paracausal superiority? We are told that it is made of many people, but it is single-minded, ruthless, and its cruelty is unmatched. In fact, its constituent minds are not even slaves; they literally do not have individuality until they dissent, and any dissent is, of course, summarily suppressed. These characteristics – the savagery or “backwardness”, the collectivism and despotism – are common Orientalist stereotypes. And to top it all off, the Witness is driven purely by religious fanaticism. Its robed, veiled selves are ontologically evil and irredeemable, except in death, naturally. I note that Savathûn gets a pass, decked out as she and her throne world are in Gothic imagery and ball gowns, and roll my eyes. And in the game, our characters speak of the Witness as a poison, a disease. A corrupter of all that is good. A foreign snake in our Traveller’s garden. There is concept art of that. Appalling. 

I have always known that Destiny is a game made by and for Americans, or the West in general. I was even recently reminded of this by the way that Bungie hiked up the price of The Final Shape expansion for many non-USD currencies, but I still held hope for a satisfactory conclusion. I was too optimistic. It appears that even in this modern tale, the tired tropes that have plagued genre fiction since genre fiction existed are inescapable. I saw the Witness’s multi-armed form (reminding me immediately of Guanyin and perhaps others of Shiva) coming from a long way off, and I still laughed when I first finished Iconoclasm. It was like finding myself situated in that old drawing depicting the Christian nations of Europe as a group of humans, arming themselves against the distant, threatening silhouette of... the Buddha. An image published in 1895. Maybe a being with a thousand arms is threatening, who knows, but I’ve seen too many sticks of incense burnt before her altar to be afraid or awed. Buddhist villains are rare in fiction, and there was some potential in contrasting the Witness’s concept of the world as made of suffering with similar ideas in Buddhism, but the resemblance, in the end, was used for superficial, visual shock value. Sigh.

So then I went ahead anyway, defending the City upon the Hill (ringed with spears) against Satan, via feats of marksmanship and acrobatics through five exciting encounters, riffling through a diary that I picked up in the Monolith to try and learn more about my enemy. If I knew my enemy, and knew myself, then I could potentially complete Salvation’s Edge in a reasonable time-frame! Or not. The raid took my team and me a month and a half. Probably because the lore left me more confused about my enemy than I was at the start.

We are told that the Witness comprised a multitude when it first entered the Traveller, since people were still actively being cut out of it shortly thereafter. And then, by the end of Excision, the game implies that the multitude is gone, and only a single consciousness remains, which we kill with little fanfare (when we could’ve used a 2-minute cutscene. In my completely unbiased opinion). 

Where did the many go? Did they all become dissenters? How? Why?

It is possible that, like the lower-case gardener described in page 2 of the raid's lorebook, all of the constituent minds grew frustrated with being unable to achieve perfection even with the Traveller’s Light, abandoned their original goal of imposing the Final Shape upon the universe, and were sealed off into statues one by one until only the last remained. But this would imply that we, the player, had little to do with the Witness’s downfall, that it imploded from its own loss of faith. Hardly a triumphant victory for us to brag about when we go home, and it comes with the “bonus” moral that mortals should not aspire to godhood because such attempts are doomed to failure. This explanation is too dull for me to accept.

The alternative, then, is that we did do something to cause the constituent minds to defect en masse. But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what. Remember, we killed the dissenters to weaken the Witness. Why would committing murder make other people dissent, people that are one hundred percent committed to the Witness’s goal? I imagine myself as a sailor on a warship in the heat of battle, or a member of a raid-race team that has been awake for 47 hours straight. I see the enemy ship fire at me. I see the 48-hour deadline drawing closer and closer. What could possibly make me turn against my own crew, sabotage my own team? Yes, it could be because my captain has been yelling at me and I am completely fed up with them and I would rather die than suffer them for another minute, but that is also either a preexisting weakness that we merely exploit, or a stress fracture within the Witness that is caused by destroying everything and everyone it throws in our way, not by convincing these constituent minds that our philosophy and goals are better than theirs. Yes, this is the genre of game where shooting and slashing solves all problems, but come on. It could’ve been different.

On page 4 of The Rubicon, the raid’s lorebook, we learn of a previous occasion upon which the Witness was nearly defeated. Its adversary offered it peace, but the Witness struck it down. The dissenter narrating this story was not shocked into individuality by the betrayal, but by the fact that the thing they created to be literally single-minded in its pursuit of the Final Shape... is single-minded in its pursuit of the Final Shape? And then, more pertinently, the dissenter dismisses any notion that the Witness could be changed, and begs us little lights to not hesitate when we are the ones holding the knife to its throat.

This dissenter, while earnest, is wrong. The death of the adversary did change the Witness. It dislodged one mind from the collective, did it not?

So imagine, if you will. 

We encounter the dissenters. We listen to their story. They beg us to destroy them to weaken the Witness. They desired to be exonerated in death, to be redeemed, to be saved by us and the paracausal entity behind us. 

And we refuse.

We are given a blade, but we strike the statues with the hilt instead, cracking the stone. We pull their living flesh – made of what, we do not know, but it is living – from the rubble and we spirit them away to the camps we’ve made. We sit them by the fire and we protect them from retribution and, though these nocturnal beings do not see very well in the Light, the Witness sees, and it knows. It may seethe at how we escape its clutches time after time, it may sneer that we are making everything harder for ourselves, that we forget the ultimate goal is survival, but, through our selflessness and our seemingly endless capacity to forgive, we stir up hope within the multitude that what awaits them could be better than death, than even finality. They begin to remember the ancient enemies that once offered them mercy, and they are confronted by a new enemy who, for the first time, uniting Light and Darkness, has the power to defend such a truce. Slowly, they realise that they do not want to be our enemy. They are cast off. We save every person we can. And in the end, together with all our allies, we confront those vicious minds that remain.

But page number 4 shut that down, and all I’m left with is my fireteam member’s gripe that wow, this is just like how the United States deals with uppity foreign countries. It doesn’t really attempt to show that it is better, but prefers to fund dissident groups within the enemy state until it collapses, and everyone there is worse off. Which is harsh, but I can understand my friend’s position, since I have related gripes of my own. You see, the campaign forced me to protect the Traveller, the very model of a foreign interventionist, and I cannot overstate how much I resent that.

I started to become interested in Destiny’s lore after seeing some amazing fanart. Through copious amounts of research, I came to the conclusion that the Traveller is a downright bastard. If you haven’t read Shattered Suns, Rhulk’s backstory, you should. But below is a summary of what Rhulk said about his society as he sat on the Witness’s therapy couch, looking directly into the camera:

“Long ago, my planet, Lubrae, was inhabited by clans of hunter-gatherers. One day, the Traveller came and provided us with resources that helped us survive the dangerous flora and fauna of the forest where we lived. (It may have also genetically modified his people, if his ‘we evolved’ phrasing is to be taken at face value.) People were of two minds about how to continue after that. Some wanted to take advantage of these resources and settle down in a well-protected City. Others preferred to stay in the forest, and live like how they did before. As a result, they fought, and they were still fighting by the time I was born. I grew up watching the better-fed, better-armed City people murder members of my forest-dwelling clan on sight.”

His clan, Rhulk explained, was egalitarian, and relied on one another for safety. The Traveller’s uplifting of his species changed all of that. Lubraeans were able to manufacture Glaives and other tools to better protect themselves against the wildlife. The newly-introduced technology shifted their very conception of safety from the clan to the Glaive, from their fellow Lubraeans to objects that could be gathered into one City, be cordoned off, monopolised, hoarded, controlled. In that City, they invented oligarchy, soldiering as a profession, and the death penalty. They started to march troops into the forest, trying to rid it of its original inhabitants.

I have read books and reports on modern hunter-gatherer societies, and all of them conclude that first contact, if unavoidable, should be made with extreme caution. To quote the 2013 IWGIA report on indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact:

“[When we make initial contact,] what we are actually doing is forming the spearhead of a complex, cold and determined society that does not excuse adversaries with inferior technology. We are invading the lands they live on without being invited, without their agreement. We are introducing needs they have never had. We are destroying extremely rich social organisations. We are taking their peace and tranquillity away from them. We are launching them into a different, cruel and hard world. Often, we are leading them to their death.”

I do not like how the narrative of Destiny persistently exonerates the Traveller. At times, a character will rail vaguely against the “chaos” it causes, and the most frequent complaint we hear about it is that it left their species too soon. Rhulk was, to my knowledge, the only one to see the Traveller come to his world, distribute its technology among his people, dump a pile of societal problems into their laps as a result, saunter off without so much as a word, and subsequently come to the conclusion that Lubrae never needed the Traveller in the first place. And he was correct; it never did. I hope it is abundantly clear that if humans were to ever encounter an alien planet inhabited by hunter-gatherers who are themselves hunted by predators, our first course of action should not be to hand out shotguns left and right.

But what if we granted them different technology, such as high-yield crops? If human history is anything to go by, they would go on to invent chattel slavery. Agriculture increased the efficiency of food production, but humans, instead of distributing the labour evenly, have universally chosen to create an artificial underclass, and then force them to perform the majority of the labour. This was true in 2000 BC, and it remains true today. The fact of the matter is, societal issues can be much, much more difficult to solve than technological ones. The Traveller tripled human lifespan? So what? Humanity has already doubled it on our own, but we’re still struggling with concepts like “women deserve rights.”

Some might say that it does not matter, because those aliens would have invented all these things sooner or later, both the good and the bad; that the Traveller merely eased their transition into a prosperous future. To which I would respond: it does matter. They must be allowed to choose their fate. At the very least, they deserve an answer for why their prayers for safety and sustenance were answered in this ham-fisted manner. We are told that the Traveller wants to grant us freedom, but all it does is run roughshod over peoples’ right to self-determination. Look at what it did to the Witness’s homeworld. It terraformed an environment that sapient beings were already living in. Were the precursors not already adapted to the dry environment, physically and culturally? What is the purpose of making a forest sprout from the sand? Is it for the benefit of the nomads of the desert, or is it to reinforce the audience’s preconception of how utopia should look? Why does the game’s narrative re-iterate that the precursors ceaselessly sought answers from the Traveller, framing them as greedy, entitled, and unsatisfied with the “blessings” bestowed upon them? If I were a precursor, I would have questions too: what was wrong with the way I lived before? Why do you get to decide how I ought to live? Is walking away even an option at this point? Paradise is a prison when you cannot leave. Lubrae’s Wanderers tried, but they could not escape the new material conditions that the Light had imposed upon them.

Humans have had our share of prophets, many associated with millennia of internecine warfare. Now imagine if God, literal God, showed up in the desert one day, and stuck around until we achieved interstellar flight. The Traveller destroyed the precursors. We’re the unfortunate ones who have to deal with the consequences of its actions, if not its words. Destiny’s narrative insists that because the Traveller was silent, it is not responsible for what befell the precursors. That is untrue. Silent or not, the damage was done. The Traveller touched world after world, sending their peoples into crisis after crisis, and all the lore says on the subject is how much the Traveller cares about all of them. Truly. It can care all it likes, as long as it stops wielding the weapon of mass destruction strapped to its belly. Come here. Hand over the beam.

My opinion may sound extraordinary, but I assure you it is not. The following are some translated user comments, taken from the most-viewed version of the Witness origin cutscene from the Season of the Deep uploaded on Bilibili (video ID BV1Jm4y1t7cn):

“I feel that Traveller was messing around with the entire universe. In order to stop it, the Witness's people discovered the Veil and the Darkness, and tried to stop the Traveller from flooding everyone with its ‘kindness’. This caused the Traveller to embark on a foolish journey, drawing even more species into a cosmic war, just so it can continue to spread its so-called grace.”

“In summary: the Traveller tosses technology everywhere to all species, and then every species wants to expand their territory. It’s just setting fires everywhere.”

“I think the narrative may end up depicting the Traveller as a neutral power, or even close to a villain. After all, its existence has disrupted the fates of many species in the universe. No matter its original intentions, its unilateral interference is not a good thing. I don’t know how the plot will resolve; whether Light and Darkness will no longer continue to interfere in the universe, or whether the Darkness (Veil) will show its true face after the Witness is defeated…”

I am not cherry-picking. These are all highly-rated comments. You can go see for yourself. It’s fascinating that reactions like these are almost completely absent from the Anglophone fandom. I only reached my own opinion on the Traveller after extensive research, yet these fans on Bilibili took one look at that cutscene, and instinctively decided that our war is the Traveller’s fault. A vast Pacific lies between the writers of Destiny, and the messaging these players saw in its story. The game insists that the Traveller is innocent, that it always had good intentions; these fans say that intentions don’t matter when its actions have been the ruin of so many. Self-determination is more precious than any paradise a foreign saviour can grant.

On page 5 of The Rubicon, we see that the precursors learned well from their god. They began to journey among the stars, and render aid unto the other species they encountered. They did one better than the Traveller, in fact, as it appears that they actually bothered to ask those species beforehand why they may or may not desire aid, rather than park their ships in their skies and skip straight to the terraforming. Unfortunately, after too many refusals, the precursors decided to go to an even further extreme than their god. They would interfere in the life of every being in existence, all at once, forcing them to exist in an eternal, perfect moment. And unlike the Traveller, they would tell everyone exactly what was coming. The Final Shape.

Early on in the eponymous expansion, we discovered that the afterlife exists. Cayde-6 was perfectly aware and conscious after his death, suspended in a bright and comforting forever alongside his Ghost, Sundance. He enjoyed the experience, and disliked being resurrected yet again. This raises an incredible number of questions, but the thing that stood out to me the most was how familiar it sounded. How much it resembled what the Witness promised. For Zavala to be reunited with Hakim. For Crow to be reunited with Amanda. For Ikora to find peace in victory. And for us to…

I do not think the Witness was lying when it offered all of those things. It was not lying when it gave each of its disciples a different vision of its ultimate goal. Whether it was capable of carrying through is one thing, but whether it was honest is another, and I believe it was honest. Its Final Shape is a natural extension of what Guardians receive in death. Whereas Guardians are granted a peaceful eternity with their Ghost, the Witness would try to simultaneously grant every sapient creature an end in kind, tailored to their individual desires. That is not to say, I agree with its end. The Witness was a tyrant as much as the Traveller is a bastard, especially since it threatened to punish people for eternity, too, out of nothing but the pettiness in its bitter heart. Yes, I concur, I am a pawn of the light, but I will not suffer to be your pawn, either.

What I wanted to say after that, rebuking its offer to make me into a disciple, is: “I will join you, if you let me save you.”

[erikoswinoswald]

⚡️David Bowie with Aboriginal dancer Joelene King while filming Let’s Dance in 1983.. ⚡️

Here’s some insight into Bowies video for Let’s Dance: “In the 1983 video of Let’s Dance, a young Aboriginal couple dances in the typical, smoke-filled outback pub of Carinda NSW while Bowie famously sings “put on your red shoes and dance the blues”.

To Bowie, Carinda – then with a population of 40 – had a “frankly brute character”.

“As much as I love this country,” he told Rolling Stone magazine in 1983, “it’s probably one of the most racially intolerant in the world, well in line with South Africa. I mean, in the north, there’s unbelievable intolerance.”

Those red dancing shoes were more than a scarlet innuendo...” Peace & Love ✌️❤️🎶

#alwayswasalwayswillbe #invasionday #australiaday #inspiration #racialawareness #davidbowie #letsdance #joeleneking #bowie #carinda #seriousmoonlight #australia #aboriginal #seeaustralia #rockandroll #music #icon #style #muse #ziggystardust #legendsneverdie #blackstar #rockicon #musichistory #musicislife #changethedate #peace #love #rocknroll #blendergallery

[mutant-distraction]

📷 The photographer’s first-ever sighting of a lion was one to remember. “We came across two male lions napping in the tall grass – rolling around, yawning, and stretching. Shortly after getting up, they started to roar. It was extraordinary to witness.” Balule Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger, South Africa. © Kendra Page Stone (Photographer of the Year 2023 entry)

[ilovewillem]

Whumptober day 15- Childhood Trauma

Ever since Yuta got back from Africa, Toge insisted on taking him on a real date every week. He argued that they only counted if they left campus, leading him to drag his boyfriend around town. 

“You really don’t have to do all this,” Yuta said while looking the happiest Toge had ever seen him. 

‘Nonsense.’ Toge signed, kissing his love’s cheek. ‘You need more sun, anyway. So pale.’

Yuta laughed, throwing his head back and smiling wide. Toge stopped breathing for a minute. The sun shined on Yuta in a way that made him look like an angel. His face was outlined in gold, gilding him like the precious thing he was. 

“You have to let me pay at least once.” Yuta pouted. “You know Gojo gives me enough.”

‘Your dad would kill me if he knew you spent any money on someone else. He wants you loaded.’ Toge complained. 

“He’s not my-“ Yuta sighed and looked away, soft cheeks flushed pink. 

‘So pretty.’ Toge pulled Yuta into him, kissing him slowly. 

“Not as pretty as you.” Yuta hummed in contentment, a low noise in his throat. 

Yuta’s foot hit a stone, sending it skidding across the sidewalk. While he was distracted for less than a minute, a car skidded off the street and stopped only inches away from the pair.

Toge laughed at the situation, scared for a moment before realizing they were both safe. The driver pulled out and left with no one hurt and no damage done. Toge kept walking for a few more feet before realizing his boyfriend wasn’t behind him.

“Yuta?” He turned around to see the taller man pale, his breathing fast and shallow. “Yuta!” Toge ran to him and touched his face, getting on the tips of his toes to meet his eyes. “Look at me.” He hated to use his cursed speech on Yuta, but he knew without trying that the other wouldn’t respond to sigh.

Yuta looked down at him, bottom lip trembling. 

‘What’s wrong?’ Toge signed, softly brushing his fingers through his hair. ‘Talk to me.’

“Rika.” Yuta stuttered, his entire body shaking, unable to stand still. He rocked back and forth, his fingers twitching and curling in on themselves. 

‘She’s not here.’ Toge intertwined their fingers and pulled them both over a bench, sitting Yuta down and kneeling in front of him. ‘Talk to me.’

Yuta curled in on himself, beginning to sob. Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he gasped for air, his hands raking across his head. It had been ages since Toge had heard Yuta cry like that, but it wasn’t the first time. He stood up and hugged Yuta close to his chest, the other boy’s ear close enough to hear his heartbeat. He hummed, hoping the noise would calm the other. Words weren’t an option, but he didn’t feel like physical touch was enough. He wanted to overwhelm Yuta’s senses. He wanted the other boy to feel him, to hear him, to know he was undeniably there.

“She was so alive, and then she just-“ Yuta wailed into Toge, embracing him and trying to get as close as possible.

“Mhm?” Toge replied, trying to get him to keep talking.

“The car just came so fast, I was distracting her. She was dead, she was dead, but I wouldn’t let her rest.” Yuta rambled.

“Hey.” Toge pulled away and shook his head, wiping Yuta’s tears so he could see. ‘Don’t blame yourself. We’re past this. You know it wasn’t your fault.’

“But just now, we could’ve-“ Toge wouldn’t let Yuta finish.

‘We would’ve been fine.’ He kissed the other’s tear-stained cheeks and smiled against his lips. ‘We’re safe.’

“Yeah.” Yuta cleaned his face on his shirt. “I’m sorry.” Toge shook his head, not allowing the other to apologize. ‘Do you want to go back to my dorm? I have ice cream in the freezer.’

Yuta nodded, “That sounds nice.”

The pair waited a few minutes for Yuta to fully calm down, not moving until the taller had stopped shaking. Toge refused to let go of Yuta’s hand until they were back at the school, only disconnecting to open the door for the other.

Yuta finally smiled, something so blinding and bright that Toge couldn’t see for a second. ‘So pretty,’ he signed. 

Yuta hopped into Toge’s bed and bundled up, covered by so many blankets that he was nearly invisible. Toge crawled in next to him, joining him in his little fort.

‘You’re safe.’ Toge signed before shoving his hands under Yuta and smiling.

“Yeah.” Yuta closed his eyes. “We’re safe.”

[bayareabadboy]

On this day in 1977, the Fleetwood Mac LP “Rumours” went to #1 on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart (May 21)

This wonderful, eclectic, emotional musical rollercoaster was famously born out of the band’s relationship turmoil, and is arguably one of the best albums of all time.

“Dreams”, “Don’t Stop”, “Never Going Back Again”, “Go Your Own Way”, “The Chain”, “Songbird”, “Gold Dust Woman”, “I Don’t Want To Know”, “You Make Loving Fun”.....just a classic piece of vinyl.

“Rumours” was an instant commercial success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide within just a month of its release, and becoming the band's first #1 album on the UK Albums Chart, also topping the US Billboard 200.

It was also #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, and South Africa.

The record has received a Diamond Award from the Recording Industry Association of America for a 20× platinum certification or 20 million copies shipped, making it, as of 2021, tied for the eleventh highest certified album in US history.

In 2003, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" by the Library of Congress.

In 2020, Rumours was rated the seventh-greatest album of all time in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Mick Fleetwood has called “Rumours” “the most important album we ever made", because its success allowed the group to continue recording for years to come.

[ometochtli2rabbit]

13.0.12.4.15

kalajun[12] MEN/TZ'IKIN[eagle]- waxaklajun[18] MUWAN

galactic tone: understanding/complex stability

sun sign: EAGLE or QUETZAL/black/west

ascend to a larger perspective - MAYA

mahtlactli-omome[12] - CUAUHTLI [eagle]

Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli | Xipe Totec

quetzaltotolin [quetzal] | warriors of Huitzilopochtli

lord of the night: Itztli

trecena[12]: Itzlacoliuhqui

x: mahtlactli-omome[12] - toxcatl - NAHUA

today would have been my dad's 71st birthday. I still miss being able to talk to him from time to time. He was supportive of me as a parent...some songs that remind me of him:

Steve Miller Band: The Joker

Billie Eilish: BLUE

Harry Chapin: Cat's in the Cradle

Jim Croce: Don't Mess Around with Jim

Temptations: Papa was a Rolling Stone

St. Vincent: Daddy's Home

Everclear: Father of Mine

USA for Africa: We are the World

Demi Lovato: Daddy Issues

Mike + the Mechanics: The Living Years

Marshall Tucker Band: Can't You See

Foreigner: Cold as Ice

U2: I Still Haven't found What I'm Looking For

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Mommy, Where's Daddy?

Pink Floyd: Another Brick in the Wall pt 1

Slipknot: Eyeless

Janis Joplin: Daddy. Daddy, Daddy

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: You Don't Know How It Feels to be Me

The Animals: House of the Rising Sun

The Rolling Stones: Start Me Up

John Lennon: Mother

Snotty Nose Rez Kids: Skoden

Elton John: Mama Can't Buy You Love

Sade: Babyfather

Nirvana: Serve the Servants

Joan Baez: Edge of Glory

Green Day: Wake Me Up When September Ends

Allman Brothers Band: Ramblin' Man

David Bowie: Underground

Waylon Jennings: Ain't Living Long Like This

Billy Joel: Piano Man

Ballad of Billy the Kid

Just the Way You Are

Streetlife Serenader

Prelude/Angry Young Man

Only the Good Die Young

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

Big Shot

Honesty

You May be Right

Don't Ask Me Why

It's Still Rock N Roll to Me

Allentown

Laura

Pressure

Goodnight, Saigon

For the Longest Time

An Innocent Man

Tell Her About It

Keeping the Faith

[foxes-that-run]

Walking in the wind

Harry Styles has a gift for answering a question and not answering it at all at once. In the Made in the A.M track by track he said WITW was inspired by Paul Simon’s song Graceland.

I love how Harry's solo work draws modern inspiration from his diverse music tastes and he encourages his fans to broaden their tastes. Hindsight being 20/20 you can see where he went with his debut in that short video and this song.

When Simon wrote Graceland he and Carrie Fisher were divorcing and his relationship with Art Garfunkel was bitter. Simon said Graceland was a metaphor for the journey to mend a broken heart. Much like 2015 Harry who had broken up with Taylor and was on tour as One Direction ended. Simon also went to Africa to make this album, much like Harry went to South America for debut.

Timeline

Made on the AM was written in Japan in February 2015. Harry talked being able to just write 'good songs' because it wouldn’t be toured which made space for a song like this. WITW was probably written between February and May 2015. Harry and Taylor had been close at the end of 2014, it was over on or by his 21st birthday 2 February 2015. His smile when he saw her at the start (0:29) of BBMAs showed no animosity, but it’s unlikely WITW was written after the BBMAs in May (Woman). He also started looking even sadder live then.

To rolling stone Julian Bunetta said:

“That title was born in Japan. Just the title of it and the idea of it. Everyone’s different experiences of what they’re going through, whether it’s this or that, I’d like to think that these songs can apply to more than just [one instance].”

Lyrics

[Verse 1: Harry] A week ago, you said to me "Do you believe I'll never be too far?" If you're lost, just look for me You'll find me in the region of the summer stars The fact that we can sit right here and say goodbye Means we've already won A necessity for apologies between you and me Baby, there is none

The relaxed and happy tone depicts their romantic friendship that continues. I think they genuinely cared for each other, are nice people who both prioritised their careers. To me, “the fact we can say goodbye means we’ve already won” shows that mutual respect for each other.

To me “Do you believe I’ll never be too far” is agreeing to be apart while they focus on being massively famous and together in the future.

In the context of their later work about being end game, the 1, sushi is about having only a piece of your persons life, in as it was and golden he sings about it being time or feel her taking over.

Harry does not have anyone that would never be too far in a literal sense, and although at that time he was always with 1D they have spoken in interviews that year of that not being good.

[Pre-Chorus: Niall] Ah-ooh, we had some good times, didn't we? Ah-ooh, we had some good tricks up our sleeve Ah-ooh, goodbyes are bittersweet But it's not the end, I'll see your face again

Taylor has a similar lyric in The 1 “But we were something, don't you think so? / Roaring 20s, / tossing pennies in the pool / And if my wishes came true / It would've been you” this is about appreciating the relationship.

[Chorus: All] And you will find me Yeah, you will find me In places that we've never been For reasons we don't understand Walking in the wind Walking in the wind

Where their earlier work on Red and other 1D albums sung about always wanting to be together and coping in their career by Made in the AM and Reputation onwards they started singing about being connected but apart, on faith they’d come back together.

[Verse 2: Louis] Yesterday, I went out To celebrate the birthday of a friend But as we raised our glasses up to make a toast I realised you were missing

This may be referring to the friends birthday where they both were. Harry’s 21st birthday was 2 weeks later but Lily and Taylor were in Nashville. In Hunger he sang about making her cry on his birthday, if it was for Debut the 1 year to 2 timeframe line up for that. (Hunger also sings of “your stuff” as in music, doesn’t taste the same, as in Two Ghosts)

Later on 27 February he posted the overgrown winding wheel and she started dating CH.

[Bridge: Harry] And I know we'll be alright, child Just close your eyes and see I'll be by your side Any time you're needing me Oh, yeah

The bridge is similar to Fine Line, which also ends on “we’ll be alright” in Fine line he’s reflecting on being friends with someone he’s in love with. Here he is asking his muse to have faith that although they are not together he’s there for her. Also Sign of the Times "Just stop your crying / It'll be alright"

I just wanna love you leak

In September 2023 a leaked song, I just wanna love you referenced WITW with “A week ago you said to me: "We've started running out of time" / Crying over memories that we lost and cannot be found / Why don't we stop talking now? / (I just wanna love you)” which to me, in the sound and this lyric is the sequel to WITW, he’s saying it’s time. It also refers to Late night talking, and The 1 and Question…? Where they explore friendship with someone they love, in WITW they seem to agree to leave a live unresolved, on Harry’s House and Midnights they are contemplating that unresolved love.

[therecordchanger62279]

MY 200 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME

(Revised 2024 Edition)

To my way of thinking, a list of favorite albums changes over time. At any moment, there might be as many as 300 or 400 albums that are good enough to make a favorites list of 200. Where and how to cut is the question. I do a new list whenever the old one feels outdated to me. The criteria I use is pretty basic. I choose my favorite records to listen to, and those that get played more often are ranked higher. But my listening habits change from time to time, so when an album I love doesn't get played as often because I'm getting tired of it, it falls to a lower spot on the list, or disappears altogether. If I haven't played it in awhile, and it sound fresh to me, it goes back into regular rotation, and subsequently climbs higher on the list. I go through periods when I listen to one genre more than another, and that can also affect where the album lands on the list. Playability is the most important factor. That's why an album that has one great side that gets played all the time while the other side is ignored, won't rank as high as one that I enjoy playing from start to finish. And critics lists are things I often read, but completely ignore when it comes to doing my own. My list reflects my tastes, and my biases only.

This is my first revision since March of 2023. There are 28 new additions to the list this time marked with an asterisk. And, in case you're wondering, there were five artists that placed at least five albums on the list. They were The Rolling Stones (13), The Beatles (8), and The Beach Boys, Steely Dan, and Tom Petty each had five (though four of Petty's were with The Heartbreakers, and the fifth was a solo album). Here's my list, and I hope it encourages you to explore something you might not have heard, or to pull something out you may not have played in awhile.

    1. All Things Must Pass – George Harrison (1970)

    2. Revolver (UK) – The Beatles (1966)

    3. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle – Bruce Springsteen (1973)

    4. Blood on the Tracks – Bob Dylan (1975)

    5. Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones (1971)

    6. Close to the Edge – Yes (1972)

    7. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd (1973)

    8. L.A. Woman – The Doors (1971)

    9. Surrealistic Pillow – Jefferson Airplane (1967)

  10. The Who by Numbers – The Who (1975)

  11. Help (UK) – The Beatles (1965)

  12. A1A – Jimmy Buffet (1974)

  13. Bitches Brew – Miles Davis (1970)

  14. Kind of Blue – Miles Davis (1959)

  15. Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys (1966)

  16. A Tribute to Jack Johnson – Miles Davis (1971)

  17. Pat Metheny Group (1978)

  18. A Hard Day’s Night (UK) – The Beatles (1964)

  19. Aftermath (US) – The Rolling Stones (1966)

  20. The Division Bell – Pink Floyd (1994)

  21. Heavy Weather – Weather Report (1977)

  22. Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel (1970)

  23. Sweet Baby James – James Taylor (1970)

  24. Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys (1971)

  25. Exile on Main St. – The Rolling Stones (1972)

  26. At Fillmore East – The Allman Brothers Band (1971)

  27. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen (1975)

  28. The Hissing of Summer Lawns – Joni Mitchell (1975)

  29. The Doors (1967)

  30. Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan (1965)

  31. Rust Never Sleeps – Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1979)

  32. Let It Bleed – The Rolling Stones (1969)

  33. Astral Weeks – Van Morrison (1969)

  34. (Untitled) (4th) – Led Zeppelin (1971)

  35. Teaser & the Firecat – Cat Stevens (1971)

  36. The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

  37. On the Road to Freedom – Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre (1973)

  38. Tea for the Tillerman – Cat Stevens (1970)

  39. The Complete Africa Brass Sessions – John Coltrane (1961)

  40. Holland – The Beach Boys (1973)

  41. Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs – Derek & the Dominos (1970)

  42. Heartbreaker – Free (1972)

  43. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Jones, Ltd. – The Monkees (1967)

  44. Beggar’s Banquet – The Rolling Stones (1968)

  45. III – Led Zeppelin (1970)

  46. Seventh Sojourn – Moody Blues (1972)

  47. Forever Changes – Love (1967)

  48. My Favorite Things – John Coltrane (1961)

  49. Meet The Beatles – The Beatles (1964)

  50. Can’t Buy a Thrill – Steely Dan (1972)

  51. Beautiful Vision – Van Morrison (1982)

  52. Days of Future Passed – Moody Blues (1967)

  53. Setting Sons (US) – The Jam (1979)

  54. The Captain & Me – Doobie Brothers (1973)

  55. The Dream of the Blue Turtles – Sting (1985)

  56. Willy & the Poor Boys – Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

  57. The Way It Is – Bruce Hornsby & The Range (1986)

  58. One Fair Summer Evening – Nanci Griffith (1988)

  59. The Beatles Second Album -The Beatles (1964)

  60. Who’s Next – The Who (1971)

  61. Idlewild South – The Allman Brothers Band (1970)

  62. Beatles ’65 – The Beatles (1964)

  63. Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica - The Ronettes (1964)

  64. Chuck Berry is On Top – Chuck Berry (1959)

  65. First Circle – Pat Metheny Group (1984)

  66. The Allman Brothers Band (1969)

  67. Young Americans – David Bowie (1975)

  68. The End of the Day – The Reivers (1989)*

  69. Visions of the Emerald Beyond – Mahavishnu Orchestra (1975)

  70. Will O’ The Wisp – Leon Russell (1975)

  71. 461 Ocean Boulevard – Eric Clapton (1974)

  72. Band on the Run – Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)

  73. It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll – The Rolling Stones (1974)

  74. Manassas – Stephen Stills & Manassas (1972)

  75. Pretzel Logic – Steely Dan (1974)

  76. Peter Gabriel (3rd/Melt) (1980)

  77. Made in Japan – Deep Purple (1973)

  78. Where Have I Known You Before – Return to Forever (1974)

  79. Green River – Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)

  80. Making Movies – Dire Straits (1980)

  81. Rock ‘N’ Roll Animal – Lou Reed (1974)

  82. Selling England by the Pound – Genesis (1973)

  83. Heroes – David Bowie (1977)

  84. Afro Blue Impressions – John Coltrane (1963)

  85. Some Girls – The Rolling Stones (1978)

  86. Diesel & Dust – Midnight Oil (1987)

  87. Mysterious Traveler – Weather Report (1974)

  88. Blues from Big Bill’s Copacabana – Various Artists (1968)

  89. Modern Times – Jefferson Starship (1981)

  90. Blow Your Cool – Hoodoo Gurus (1987)

  91. Ram – Paul & Linda McCartney (1971)

  92. Caravanserai – Santana (1972)

  93. Odessey & Oracle – The Zombies (1968)

  94. Black Market – Weather Report (1976)

  95. Heart Like a Wheel – Linda Ronstadt (1974)

  96. 12X5 – The Rolling Stones (1964)

  97. Santana (1969)

  98. In Concert: Live at Philharmonic Hall – Miles Davis (1973)

  99. Bridge of Sighs – Robin Trower (1974)

100. Pirates – Rickie Lee Jones (1981)

101. Benefit – Jethro Tull (1970)

102. Madman Across the Water – Elton John (1971)

103. Countdown to Ecstasy – Steely Dan (1973)

104. McCartney – Paul McCartney (1970)

105. Yesterday’s Wine – Willie Nelson (1971)

106. Howlin’ Wind – Graham Parker & The Rumour (1976)

107. Voice of America – Little Steven (1984)

108. Out of Our Heads (US) – The Rolling Stones (1965)

109. Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck (1975)

110. Robbie Robertson (1987)

111. Gaucho – Steely Dan (1980)

112. Desire – Bob Dylan (1976)

113. Vol. 4 – Black Sabbath (1972)

114. Abbey Road – The Beatles (1969)

115. Aja – Steely Dan (1977)

116. Yessongs – Yes (1973)

117. Rickie Lee Jones (1979)

118. Bare Trees – Fleetwood Mac (1972)

119. Something/ Anything? – Todd Rundgren (1972)

120. After the Gold Rush – Neil Young (1970)

121. Physical Graffiti – Led Zeppelin (1975)

122. Rock ‘N’ Roll – John Lennon (1975)

123. Abraxas – Santana (1970)

124. Hard Promises – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1981)

125. A New World Record – Electric Light Orchestra (1976)

126. Ghost in the Machine – The Police (1981)

127. The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys – Traffic (1971)

128. Dreaming My Dreams – Waylon Jennings (1975)

129. We’re an American Band – Grand Funk Railroad (1973)

130. Chicago Transit Authority – Chicago (1969)

131. What’s Goin’ On – Marvin Gaye (1971)

132. Don’t Cry Now – Linda Ronstadt (1973)

133. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John (1973)

134. Jaco – Jaco Pastorius (1976)

135. Peter Frampton (1975)

136. Prisoner in Disguise – Linda Ronstadt (1975)

137. El Mocambo 1977 – The Rolling Stones (2022)

138. Document – R.E.M. (1987)

139. Harbor – America (1977)*

140. Love’s Melodies – The Searchers (1981)*

141. Doll Revolution – Bangles (2003)*

142. Learning to Crawl – Pretenders (1984)

143. Black & Blue – The Rolling Stones (1976)

144. The Yardbirds (Roger the Engineer) (1966)*

145. Lifes Rich Pageant – R.E.M. (1986)*

146. America (1971)*

147. Wildflowers – Tom Petty (1994)*

148. Aladdin Sane – David Bowie (1973)

149. Dusty in Memphis – Dusty Springfield (1969)

150. Everything – Bangles (1988)*

151. That’s Why God Made the Radio – The Beach Boys (2012)

152. Stephen Stills (1970)*

153. On the Border – Eagles (1974)

154. Baron Von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun – Kantner, Slick & Freiberg (1973)

155. The Pretender – Jackson Browne (1976)

156. Under the Big Black Sun – X (1982)*

157. Stand Up – Jethro Tull (1969)

158. Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1987)*

159. London Calling – The Clash (1979)*

160. Live at The Star Club – The Beatles (1977)

161. The Joshua Tree – U2 (1987)

162. Eat to The Beat – Blondie (1979)*

163. One of These Nights – Eagles (1975)*

164. Scarecrow – John Mellencamp (1985)*

165. Live – Bob Marley & The Wailers (1975)

166. Tattoo – Rory Gallagher (1973)

167. Orange Crate Art – Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks (1995)

168. Damn the Torpedoes – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1979)*

169. Hard Again – Muddy Waters (1977)

170. Valley Hi – Ian Matthews (1973)

171. In the Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson (1969)

172. One Live Badger – Badger (1972)

173. Automatic for the People – R.E.M. (1991)*

174. Trilogy – Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1972)

175. Sunflower – The Beach Boys (1970)

176. 80/81 – Pat Metheny (1980)

177. Moving Pictures – Rush (1981)

178. Blue and Lonesome – The Rolling Stones (2016)

179. You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw – Spooky Tooth (1972)

180. Quadrophenia – The Who (1973)

181. Go for Your Guns – Isley Brothers (1977)

182. Hearts of Stone – Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (1978)

183. Get Happy! – Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1980)*

184. Long After Dark – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1982)*

185. Master of Reality – Black Sabbath (1971)

186. Led Zeppelin (1969)

187. Sign O’ The Times – Prince (1987)

188. Ambient 1: Music for Airports – Brian Eno (1978)

189. Liars – Todd Rundgren (2004)*

190. Electric Ladyland – Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968)

191. Blonde on Blonde – Bob Dylan (1966)

192. Tattoo You – The Rolling Stones (1981)*

193. My Generation – The Who (1965)*

194. Going For The One – Yes (1977)*

195. The Tortured Poets Society: The Anthology – Taylor Swift (2024)*

196. Bloodletting – Concrete Blonde (1990)*

197. Fear of Music – Talking Heads (1979)*

198. English Settlement – XTC (1982)*

199. Brain Salad Surgery – Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1973)

200. Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols – Sex Pistols (1977)

[amberlide]

Something about Natty again ^^

This is from my latest chapter, 19 - Jealous Geminids. I put a bit more lore about Natty because she deserves all the best :)

"Natty, did you also experience the Geminids shower in Uagadou?" Amit asked. "I know Uagadou's students are well-versed in Astronomy."

"Of course!" Natsai beamed, munching on her Cauldron Cake. "The sky is magnificent from there. There are not so many hills around, and the Astronomy tower is so high up in the mountain it seems to float into the sky," she explained with a dreamy air. Then, noticing Penton's curious gaze, she continued, "You know, Pen, we don't receive a letter like here when we are selected to attend school." Her gentle smile widened as Penelope's eyes lit up.

"We receive a Dream Messenger while asleep. I have to admit, I was a bit scared at first, and I thought it might be a joke because of my mother's heavy cooking that night," she chuckled, shaking her head and brushing her nose, "But when I woke up, I found the inscribed stone in my right hand. I was so excited! I still have that stone. It's one of my most precious memories from my time in Africa," she confided with a wink, amused by the boy's sparkling gaze.

"As you know, we use wandless magic!" Natty exclaimed, jumping up and improvising a dance step. She waved her hands around, and a stream of sparks emitted from her fingers, enveloping her slender form and illuminating a couple of lanterns in the corners of the balcony.

Garreth rolled his eyes at her antics; she always liked to show off her wandless magic.

"But you're also an Animagus!" Penelope exclaimed, hoping to witness the transformation she missed during their adventure at the Old Fool.

"Of course!" Natty blinked, always happy to entertain her friends. She then shed her cloak and slowly began to mutate.

Her back hunched down, her limbs stretched, and two horns started to elongate from her head. Soon, she turned into a slender gazelle, jumping around with her hooves clapping on the cold, stone ground. 

Penelope laughed in delight and without even noticing, she rose to her feet and moved closer to the animal. Her hand stretched out, her heart beating in her chest as she cautiously approached and gently stroked the soft bristles on the gazelle's head.

"You're majestic!" she whispered before hugging the animal, sinking her face into the fur on its neck. 

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff Buckley on Music and Life: A Rare Interview with a Rare Soul

BY MARIA POPOVA

In 1995, while working for an Italian radio station, journalist Luisa Cotardo conducted a candid, soulful, and profound conversation with beloved musician Jeff Buckley (November 17, 1966–May 29, 1997). His only studio album, Grace — which includes Buckley’s now-iconic cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” — had been released a few months earlier and he had just performed in the town of Correggio in Northern Italy as part of his European tour. Less than two years later, at the age of thirty, he would drown by a tragedy of chance while swimming in Tennessee’s Wolf River during a tour. Rolling Stone later proclaimed him one of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Cotardo has kindly shared with me her recording of this rare and remarkably rich interview, in which Buckley discusses with great openness and grace his philosophy on music and life. Transcribed highlights below.

On why he chose not to include lyrics in the album booklet, a deliberate effort to honor music as a deeply personal experience interpreted and inhabited differently by each listener:

So that instead of people being compelled to read through the blueprint of the songs — instead of them looking at the dance steps ahead of time, they would just go through the dance. So that they would let the songs happen to them. Later on, they will find out what the meaning is, but for now — I mean, you know, we’re just meeting for the first time and it’s better… It’s better to grab your own reality from it right now instead of like, you know, read.

On what he seeks to communicate with his music, echoing composer Aaron Copland’s conviction about the interplay of emotion and intellect in great music:

[What I want to communicate] doesn’t have a language with which I can communicate it. The things that I want to communicate are simply self-evident, emotional things. And the gifts of those things are that they bring both intellectual and emotional gifts — understanding. But I don’t really have a major message that I want to bring to the world through my music. The music can tell people everything they need to know about being human beings. It’s not my information, it’s not mine. I didn’t make it. I just discovered it.

On the problem with Western charity efforts like LiveAid:

I would like for the starvation and oppression to end in Africa. I like for money from concerned people to go there, you know, to go to Africa, to aid. But … the real solution will come from Africa ruling Africa and not Britain ruling Africa, not America ruling Africa — it’s the only real key. If Africa rules Africa, that’s the only way that pattern of oppression from the outside can be stopped — not money, not only money. Money is a tool and it can be, I don’t know, I really don’t… It’s great that Mandela came out and took office in Africa. I think that’s the real revolution.

On place and what constitutes home and belonging for a global nomad like himself:

I don’t know what belonging means… I can only use my brain and intellectualize. I really wouldn’t able to tell you from the heart what belonging means… My memories of that place are my link to the place — memories of your experience in a place is your link… All people belong to the world. There is no exclusivity in that… The soil from America can differ from the soil in Malaysia, but its soil, it’s still the same. And the color of people’s skin can differ from place to place but it’s still skin. And, in that regard, there is no difference. People must belong to the earth and a traveller must belong to world somehow and the world must belong to her or him somehow. But, you know, then there’s the social level — that’s just the archetypal level, people usually live in the social level.

Echoing what Jackson Pollock’s father so poetically told his son in 1928, Buckley parlays this into his humble yet wonderfully wise advice on being in the world:

I have no advice for anybody except to, you know, be awake enough to see where you are at any given time and how that is beautiful and has poetry inside, even in places you hate.

On one’s journey of self-actualization and the organic letting go of dreams that no longer fit that journey:

It’s part of maturity, to project upon your life goals and project upon your life realized dreams and a result that you want. It’s part of becoming whole … just like a childish game. It’s honest — it’s an honest game, because … you want your life to hold hope and possibility. It’s just that, when you get to the real meat of life, is that life has its own rhythm and you cannot impose your own structure upon it — you have to listen to what it tells you, and you have to listen to what your path tells you. It’s not earth that you move with a tractor — life is not like that. Life is more like earth that you learn about and plant seeds in… It’s something you have to have a relationship with in order to experience — you can’t mold it — you can’t control it…

[campingbagandstuff]

.22/9.33 {Part 2 of 12}; 21

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