#that the spotify versions of all the themes are all bits and pieces of the dynamic soundtrack glued together. And they STILL sound wonderfu

[sciencelings-arts]

Kill your demons, Kill 'em dead in your mirror, in your bed, in your heart, in your head Don't you look good in red Slay your devils, Kill 'em all, Take your throne, Paint the walls, And if you make it out alive, Hold that bloody head up high

Good in Red

-The Midnights

Artists commentary below the cut

First off, here's the song:

Red version, anyway let's speedrun the symbolisms:

The sword of justice is Apollo and Trucy flavored with the eyes and the diamonds, also the guard is supposed to resemble the scales of justice. There's also Apollo's bracelet and Kazuma's hachamaki, I felt like including a bit of him for the vibes. The halo of stars is used as a crown of immortality which goes with Phoenix's whole thing.

different version of the halo, more sharp and stabby and feathery. Anyway, I wanna ramble about what I was going to do with the background. So, with the theme of 'Kill your demons' I was going to try to include the silhouettes of heads on spears of the people that Phoenix dethroned, like Redd White, Manfred von Karma, Damon Gant, Matt Engarde, and Dahlia Hawthorne. As you can tell, that didn't pan out and no matter how I tried to work it, it didn't look good so I just didn't do it lol. Also, I guess the heads on spears would've gone past the point of being a little too gruesome for me, just in general.

This whole piece is based on one of the many paintings of Judith slaying Holofernes, which is why this specifically takes place in my Fem!Phoenix AU, I thought it hit harder, especially after learning about the version by Artemisia Gentileschi that's implied to be inspired by her own sexual assault. While I followed the versions where it's mostly just 'pretty lady holding a head', her version was more brutal and actually depicting the act of beheading Holofernes which was rad as hell. I just liked the Perseus and Medusa-esque pose of triumph more in the end.

My initial inspiration was Perseus and Medusa but then I stumbled upon the absolute tsunami of Baroque and Renaissance art depicting Judith and Holofernes and I just went crazy. Sure there's the whole vibe of 'cutting off the head of the snake' but there's like one statue of Perseus and it's not very interesting but people really went off on Judith. I love you women committing righteous acts of violence, and obviously, so many painters had the same thought bc holy shit.

And I drew the whole sword of justice and was only a little lazy with the blade because I knew it would be completely hidden

[felassan]

DRAGON AGE: SOUNDTRACK 4LP BOX SET - DISC 4 SIDE A (BONUS DLC TRACKS) 1. I AM THE ONE (DARK FANTASY VERSION) [DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS] (4:10) 2. MAIN THEME [DAI DESCENT DLC] (2:58) 3. AFTERMATH [DAI DESCENT DLC] (1:29) 4. DARK SOLAS THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:01) 5. QUNARI ATMOSPHERE [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (2:41) 6. LOST ELF THEME [DAI TRESPASSER DLC] (3:58) 7. D'READ KODA (1:08) [HIDDEN TRACK]

I find the arrangement of the tracks on Disc 4 Side A "Bonus DLC Tracks" in the Dragon Age OST vinyl interesting. it's called "Bonus DLC Tracks" but the first track it features is "I Am The One (Dark Fantasy Version)", which isn't from DLC, it's from basegame DA:O, and ofc the last track is new. this disc is the only one of the discs to include songs from multiple games (and not even just two, but three: DA:O, DA:I and DA:D, assuming that "D'Read Koda" is from or tied to DA:D). and the order the Trespasser tracks are included in is different to the order they appear in on the Trespasser OST, at least going by the Trevor Morris album (on there it's Dark Solas Theme, Lost Elf Theme, Qunari Atmosphere). I wanna say that the way it was arranged was intentional, like the specific arrangement of the tracks on this disc is like hinting at telling a sort of a story or a tease. he's lost, and then things come to an end (his story and.. something else?). a passage of music that brings the music to a close (coda), that brings a piece or movement to an end. I think of when Flemythal said

Alas, so long as the music plays, we dance.

and when Solas said

 I walk the dinan'shiral. There is only death on this journey. [death is an end, and it can be a metaphor for the end of something too]

my eye is also drawn to:

I am the One (Dark fantasy version) [...] Dark Solas theme

especially since there's a different version of I Am The One ("High fantasy version") that could have gone in there instead (which as the second song on the DA:O OST, the high fantasy version is more of a 'where this all began' song).

the idea that "I Am The One" is about Solas/Fen'Harel and what happened in ancient Elvhenan (and what his intention is in the future) is a common fan theory, and not a new one. [link to English translation of the lyrics] the lyrics could be applied to a lot of things, or nothing at all, but back then there was a war (both within the Evanuris and one they fought before that), a divide between the gods, the sky was held back/there was great destruction when the Veil was raised (but despite that there was a flicker of hope in that the elves were freed from the Evanuris), the nature of time for the ancient elves was changed (elven immortality/mortality), he references the potential for the world now to burn in the raw chaos if he succeeds, In Your Heart Shall Burn/From The Ashes etc. he ended up being one of the only survivors who lived on from the event and fears dying alone, is one of the only elves in modern Thedas who remembers, he's asked for and turned to for guidance at various points (Lasa ghilan / Ma ghilana mir din'an / Ma ghilana, vhenan / Fen'Harel ma ghilana), he believes he's the only one who can fix it now in the modern day, etc.

listening again to D'Read Koda, the echo-y, pulsing aspect and how it rises to a crescendo reminds me of the music in the Dread Wolf Rises teaser (which is still such a banger). and the discordant notes remind me of the same here and here in the 2020 trailer music. the 'discordant note' hook is also present here in the in-game cinematic (also at the start and throughout it sort of underpinning it), and the general ominous atmosphere of the 'koda' also echoes that of the various bits of music we've heard in trailers and the in-game cinematic before.

anyways, since I don't have a vinyl player I made the tracks as a lil playlist for myself on Spotify and have been listening to that then playing one of the videos with the D'Read Koda audio in it (since ofc it isn't on Spotify rn) to have the same effect, and it's interesting.

[synthshenanigans]

woah hey a year has been passed wowie :0

First two weren't posted here cos they were too long ago & not CJish related but love the way he took up 70% of the year lol

[ Full images + templates below :} ]

[TW for Bright Colors, maybe blood & very very vague themes of depression/suicide for like 2 drawings I believe]

Long text about the arts if anyones actually curious!!

January: An old OC I completely forgot about until making this. He's based on old radio like things :}

February: Played Person 5 Royal last year & drew Joker cos idk he's neat. Fun fact, the same day I fully finished the game was the day Storm & a Spring came out. Also while grinding in the game, I had his Bidding & VoaC covers on repeat. Which was a bit annoying to do since they weren't on Spotify yet & YT on mobile didn't have looping then.

March: The Hawaii Part ii album cover :} I did post that eventually but that's the time I actually made it. Had listened to TME a couple of months before then which got me into the album, so months later I drew it cos why not? [Also the month Vol.1 fully released on everything. What's funny is my gallery for that day was a handful of memes I saved at 4am before I fell asleep. And then the next image saved is when I woke up which was a screenshot of the whiteboard in TfaR lol]

April: First main Jash art !!! And its not even with any of the songs from Vol. 1 lol. I had his Moss cover on repeat again & now that all of Vol. 1 was out, I drew Heart in some moss. Or really in the image from the video.

May: Lil animation I made of Heart with the song Don't Hit the Lights! Link to my post & the song can be found here :}. Still really like the song & even the drawings. Might remake em eventually idk

June: Sky/socialc1imb's Clue AU! I like murder mysteries & this one was real interesting so I drew it a lot lol. Might remake that one or one of the others I made at somepoint? It'll be a bit later if I do but ye

July: A redraw of a HMS piece I originally made back in May, based on the Three Wise Monkeys thing. I like the idea of it so I keep wanting to remake it.

August: I honestly can't remember if I posted that art or not. Actually yea I don't think I ever did PFFT. It's one of the few drawings I did of myself this year & its from CJs Not Perfect cover [as you can tell by the lyrics on it]. Also one of the very very few vent-ish arts I made. I like the background more than anything but its still neat ig?

September: Art for one of the best songs ever. I love Fine, I'm Fine its so good & I listened to it for like 70% of the 20+ hours it took me to make the drawing. Still proud of it so there's the sketch I drew on paper, the one on my tablet & then the final versions.

October: There was a lot from this month due to Jashtober. I still like this one lot & it wasn't insanely rushed so I picked this one to show lol.

November: I have no idea why I made a fun lil soul. I was having an identity crisis over my art style & ig decided to draw the guy who is a walking identity crisis/j

December: Same as September. One of my favorite songs ever was covered & released, so I made a drawing like everyone else lol.

[randomvarious]

1990s Trip Hop Playlist

Been six months since I added anything to this fly-as-fuck playlist, and this week I've got a bunch of heady, spaced-out, and super stoned treats for you all. For this update, I ended up drawing from three separate releases: Ninja Cuts: Flexistentialism, a terrific comp from 1996 that was put out by premier UK trip hop, hip hop, downtempo, and future jazz label Ninja Tune; French native Kid Loco's brilliant DJ-Kicks mix from 1999 that was put out by Germany's !K7 label; and a varied South African comp that was put out by national indie label Fresh Records in 1998 called ReRooted: Beatz From da Ground Up.

So let's highlight some sweet goodies from all of these then. First up, "Junkies Bad Trip" by London Funk Allstars, a quintessential piece of head-nodding mid-90s boom bap dope that sounds like it's waiting for your favorite New York rapper's favorite New York rapper to spit some crazy fire over it. When it comes to instrumental trip hop and hip hop-type shit, there's really nothing in my mind that tops something like this tune right here; a big sonic bluntski with two pretty iconic samples in it: one from Baby Huey's "Hard Times," which gives the song its frenzied, metallic, whistling stabs, and has been used in a whole bunch of other rap tunes too; and a funky guitar riff from James Brown's "Blind Men Can See It," which was also famously used in Das EFX's 1992 classic, "They Want EFX" as well. Currently at around 252K plays on Spotify.

Next, something really cool from that ReRooted comp by a band from Cape Town called Naked, who only ever put out one album, 1998's Bone Needs Flesh. Here they offer up a tune called "Wash Your Hands (Stone Cold remix)," which employs this really unique blend of chopped-up vocals, heavy breathing, and sharp, acidic bass stabs, as a couple different effects are applied to frontwoman Kaolin Thompson's voice. This one seems pretty damn obscure, as it's currently sitting at under 1,000 plays on Spotify. It's terrific, though.

And for some pure fuckin' THC-induced nuttery, there's "Attitude Adjuster" by Essex, England's own Tom Tyler. Appearing on Kid Loco's DJ-Kicks mix, this 1999 leftfield stunner's marked by a very imposing, dissonantly wobbly, and bleating horn sound, with a dubbed-out drumbeat beneath it, and all of it anchored by a super chill and steady synth pad to mellow and balance the whole thing out. A simply bananas piece of music that was made to satiate your crusty-eyed inner insomniac at 3:46 in the morning. Currently at a little over 4,000 Spotify plays.

9 Lazy 9 - "Turn Me Loose" Jazz Con Bazz - "Wayz of Life" Luke Vibert - "Get Your Head Down" Up, Bustle & Out - "Ninja's Principality" London Funk Allstars - "Junkies Bad Trip" DJ Vadim - "Theme From Conquest of the Irrational (Remix by The Prunes)" Pelding - "One" Naked - "Wash Your Hands (Stone Cold remix)" Boards of Canada - "Happy Cycling" Tom Tyler - "Attitude Adjuster" Kid Loco - "Flyin' on 747"

Now, something else I should mention is that the YouTube version of this playlist includes all of these songs too, but a bunch of the versions that are specifically from Kid Loco's DJ-KIcks mix are as they appear on the mix itself, which is a little different from how they sound unmixed on Spotify, except for the set's sweet and serene closer, "Flyin' on 747."

But in addition to that, this YouTube update also comes with some songs from that DJ-Kicks mix that aren't on Spotify at all too, like something from a London collective called Common Ground, whose 1998 song, "Dark Soul," has some piano-and-string bits that might remind you a little of something like the theme song from Succession—a show that came 20 years after this very song dropped—but this tune, like so many others in this update, is also very fucking stoned; it has this Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells-like opening, some plonking xylo, and some slow and incremental, scale-climbing vocals to mark its 'chorus' too. An absolute, unheralded banger as far as I'm concerned, and currently only nearing 1,900 plays on YouTube across a couple different uploads.

Emperors New Clothes - "Dark Light (Underdog Mix)" Grantby - "Grimble" Tongue - "Culture Consumers" Common Ground - "Dark Soul" Stereotyp - "Slo Jo"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So with this update we're now at 46 songs that clock in at 4 hours and 5 minutes on Spotify, but over on YouTube, we've got 76 songs that clock in at 7 hours and 2 minutes! So if you want more dank 90s trip hop than you know what to do with, then do yourself a favor and pick the YouTube one.

And if 7 hours and change or 4 hours and change sounds like way too overwhelming of an amount of trip hop for you to handle, I've got a bunch of this broken down by year too:

1994 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1996 Trip Hop: Spotify / YouTube / YouTube Music 1997 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1998 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music 1999 Trip Hop: YouTube / YouTube Music

More trip hop next week, but from a certain locality 😎.

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!

[digitsofpie]

Ok crazed metropolis soundtrack rant below

So like. I made that post about the intricacies of the Metropolis leitmotifs but I didn't really go in much detail on any of the songs, so... for the hell of it here's an analysis on the leitmotifs of Der Tanz (The Dance)

Now I'm no expert on music theory, but this... THIS... this song is truly a sight to behold.

I was lucky enough to find an ACTUAL FULL VERSION of the sheet music for the entire score! Imslp.org is a lovely site full of public domain sheet music for people to download for free! Hopeful me wanted to see if there was any chance that Huppertz's score was on there, and it is! You can check out the full thing here. Since it's such a long score and there are so many parts, it's written like a piano piece with other specific parts written in at times. It follows the full length 2 hour long score on Spotify, and not the condensed one hour long version. Anyway here we go!!!!

I want to start by saying that this piece, Der Tanz, is very, very intricate! It is pretty much a culmination of many recurring leitmotifs already present in the score, and is like a big hurrah at the end of the Zwischenspiel.

It starts with this:

Those first two measures are devoid of any other instruments besides the steady bounce of the wood block. It seems like a trivial choice, but I found that it is a deliberate one!

Elsewhere in the movie, when Georgy (11811) switches lives with Freder and rides in a car through the city, he encounters the Yoshiwara, the red-light district full of that 1920s glamour and excess. There, you can hear these things: the wood block, the bells/glockenspiel. and a rhythm of two sixteenth notes and three eighth notes (we'll encounter those later).

Both the wood block and the bells give off a vibe of whimsy and carefreeness/carelessness (depending on how you see it), so I find it a wonderful choice in the context of the movie.

Moving on, we encounter what I call the Dance motif/ False Maria motif:

That pattern of descending sixteenth/eighth notes is what characterizes False Maria. You hear it in practically every other scene she's in. such as the scene in which Joh Fredersen commands her to ruin Maria's efforts:

Same pattern, right? It also shows up in "Im Laboratorium - Verwandlung" and in "In Rotwangs Salon," as well as plenty of other songs.

It's a careless, playful motif that I think perfectly symbolizes False Maria, and when twisted right (like in the image above), is sinister as well.

Soon after this motif appears, we get another theme that occurs a LOT throughout the entire score: the Machine Man motif.

See the smaller staff, at the very top? That motif shows up in many places, usually to do with the Machine Man, such as "Der Maschineman," "Im Laboratorium," "Der Aufstand der Arbeiter," Der Scheiterhaufen," and many, many more!

It is a hypnotic and beautiful theme, not unlike False Maria herself. She/ the Machine Man are almost ethereal but unnerving in the way they act, and the theme itself, though graceful, seems to veil the unknown.

At the same time this motif is playing, a rhythm played in the Yoshiwara theme (Die Autofahrt) also plays!

It may be a bit of a stretch, and although the two are in different time signatures (one is cut time (2/2) and the other is 2/4), you can still see a resemblance! All it does is solidify that this is the same area, an upbeat and lively club.

Next is something I only discovered recently! The next motif is what I previously called the Desolation motif, and it shows up here:

In the top part, a series of half notes plays ominously in the background. It not only shows up throughout the Metropolis score, but in other classical music, as well! I was listening to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique when I noticed that familiar ominous pattern, so I looked it up, and found this:

It's an old pattern found in Gregorian chants, often referenced in classical music to convey death, danger, or as the name goes, an "angry god." I even found that Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age from Holst's the Planets (my favorite movement from my favorite piece) also uses this!

Of course, with all the religious imagery throughout Metropolis, from Moloch to Death itself, you can't really have a soundtrack without referencing this once.

During this sequence, the song plays through the Machine Man motif quietly, then picks up the pace by repeating the False Maria motif with the Yoshiwara rhythm. Then, I heard something interesting!

During rehearsal 48, the Dies Irae motif plays again, harsher and louder, but over that, on the smaller staff, you can hear a piccolo. In the song after this, Der Tod, Death himself plays a piccolo (well, a bone) and it is the primary instrument you hear in that specific song. Even before he shows himself, the score sort of leads up to that by having the piccolo play during the Dies Irae motif.

The song gets louder and faster, culminating in a blast of Dies Irae with a trumpet in the lead. Then, in the center of desolation, it goes right into Der Tod.

That's all the leitmotifs I could pick up, but a song doesn't have to HAVE leitmotifs to tell you something. In fact, the ABSENCE of leitmotifs also speaks just as loudly as having them.

What's something that we, the audience, know that most of the characters don't? That's right: that the woman dancing before them is not Maria, but a robot, a puppet, a mockery of her. So what do you let the audience know through the music? By NOT having any of the real Maria's motifs present!

While listening, I could pinpoint a few of Maria's themes.

(Found in Die Predigt Marias and Freder und Maria, respectively)

As seen in the smaller, upper staffs, Maria's themes are slow, flowing, gentle, majestic, showing her understanding and kind nature. To have these themes not show up at all subconsciously hammers it in how different the two characters are, and when you can't tell which is which, all you have to do is listen to the music. Even when you can't remember what scene happened during whatever track you're listening to, if you recognize the motifs, you can certainly take a wild guess.

Oooookay I've completely run out of things to say about Der Tanz, so. Thanks for reading (if anyone reading this can't read music, im. sorry)

[residentraccoon]

Ok we have all the songs, time to make a top, with comments even 😳

1. Norway - I love love love this one, this eerie, thrilling melody mixed with the medieval theme and old norwegian language just makes this song perfect and no other song of this year can come any closer to it. Very unique, true to their homeland, absolute masterpiece. I'm definitely following more of Gåte's discography from now on!

2. Estonia - Well they're singing about drugs here and this song is exactly like a drug - addictive. What sells it is their awesome, slightly batshit crazy energy (I absolutely love it) and let's not forget the traditional instruments. I can see a Trenulețul scenario with this one tbh.

3. Slovenia - Absolutely magical, the structure of this song is pretty uncommon and the lil RRAH sounds are interesting, love how it takes a while to build-up and I just get chills all over. This one is a piece of art.

4. San Marino - This song is destroying my Spotify wrapped and it's not even funny, there's something about this one that makes it instantly addictive. I've listened to Megara since last year when they were at Spain's NF with Arcadia and all I can say is that I love their style. Sassy pink and punk rock with a touch of Spanish traditional sounds during the bridge, they just mesh together so well. I don't understand why it's so underrated (currently last in the odds lmfao) and I'm looking forward to their live performance.

5. Denmark - Generic pop song my beloved, why is it so catchy though? I've said it in a previous post, I just reminds me of songs I'd hear in 2013 or so and I love the "Oh-Oh" parts. Lovely

6. Lithuania - The beat hits, it's just awesome fr. Lovely staging and colors, Lithuanian sounds so pretty and melodic as well as his voice.

7. Belgium - Wonderful build-up, the song at first sounds very chill and gives me Blanche vibes (I looked it up and they have the same composer so not surprised lmao) but man, the climax is greaaaaat!! Especially with that choir in the backing. My only gripe would be that he keeps repeating the title over and over again, which can become a bit tiring. But just a bit. It's still a great song!

8. Switzerland - I don't know whose idea was to mix opera and drum n bass together but they're a genius, this is really cool, like absolutely nuts. I love how the bridge is very soft and quiet, opposing the loud and dramatic chorus, I feel like the song itself is pretty messy and inconsistent but I really like that, it's very out of the box and innovative. Genius entry.

9. Latvia - Underrated, I can see why it might fail to grab an audience in the fandom but I really like this one, especially his voice. The song flows nicely too, I only wish the staging would be a bit more...dynamic though? I really want Latvia to qualify for once, felt like it might have a chance since it could attract some casual viewers (some of my casual friend watchers really liked it!) but seeing how brutal semifinal 2 is (and one spot will be inevitably taken by...yeah won't elaborate) I'm afraid Latvia's out for this year as well. I hope at least for a surprise or who knows. That's only how I feel at this moment.

10. Spain - My biggest grower of this year and a total banger, I don't understand why it slaps so hard it has no business to, the message is SO real and it's so unapologetically sassy.

11. Czechia - Same story as with Latvia, underrated to hell and back, I know the live version is...a lil terrible but the studio one I really like. Love how you can feel the frustration through her shouty lyrics and how she's blaming herself for not loving herself more instead (also the beginning might or might not remind me of Aijā I mean the intro with the drums makes me think of it-) ANYWAY

12. Croatia - Listen I'm very happy for Croatia being seen as a most likely winner of this year, they deserve it, Baby Lasagna is an amazing man and the message is on point, even if it's not exactly my favorite I definitely root for him!! Please meow back if you agree. Besides this, the glam ethno rock sound is just 👌 chef's kiss

13. Armenia - Love love love that they brought something ethnic!! The girl's energy is infectious and she's such a joy to watch, the music video is very pretty and describes their culture so well, overall I adore this.

14. Netherlands - GREAT I relistened to it so I can rank it and now I have Europapapapapapa stuck in my head how wonderful. This tells me already that this is such an infectious bop that will never leave your head. Possible televote winner, love the quirkiness and Joost is really goofy we stan.

15. Greece - Welcome to Greece, everyone who visits the country is obligated to listen to this the moment they step out of the plane- /j It's so Greek, so fun, so ethnic, geez what's happening with everyone being so diverse and true to their culture this year? This song screams summer vacation in Greece and I'm here for it.

16. France - The raw emotions in this...he sings with his heart and soul, his voice is very deep and gruff which feels a bit unusual to hear such an intimate and emotional ballad from him, but this is what makes the song special.

17. Italy - Love her attitude and how she sells the song, it's very sassy and fun, won't be surprised to see Italy get yet another Top 5 finish with this.

18. Ukraine - Interesting mix of melancholic pop and energetic chanting and rap. Alyona just nails the rap part perfectly. Overall nice song, grew off me but still great.

19. Ireland - This makes me have chills all over my body. It's very haunting and suspenseful, I love the uncommon unique sound and how they recite the lyrics as they are a poem/creating a curse, I simply love how avant-garde Ireland are this year! Finally they're taking a risk and even if the song is unconventional i hope it will have a following that will help them get through the semi! 🤞

20. Poland - Oh look another grower, it's such a cute song for some reason and her voice is so pleasant to the ears.

21. Serbia - At first I thought it's a bit boring but now I find myself mumbling "Lila Ramondaaaa", like it has a hook even if it's a melancholic ballad.

22. Portugal - The emotions in this are immaculate, she conveys all her struggles in life so well into a ballad that's somewhat soft-sounding. Epic.

23. Australia - For some reason this song takes me back to 2015-2016 and I don't get why?? Maybe I heard music that's similar to this in that period, who knows. That chorus slaps immensely, as well as the didgeridoo(I hope that's the instrument), but I'm not extremely head over heels about it. It's enjoyable still!

24. Malta - Contrary to popular belief I enjoyed the revamp, she made it easier to sing live and it just has more oomph, good job, Malta.

25. Finland - The whole 3 minutes are absolutely batshit insane and I love it fr, these dudes are a delight to watch. The song tbh I like it but not that much to rank it higher, but I appreciate the craziness, the message, what sells it is definitely the staging and the guys' stage persona.

26. Austria - Mmmmm I know it's a fan favorite but I'm not a big fan of this, like I've said before in some other posts. The hype at first was highly irritating (especially on twitter, dear god 💀) for such a...just okay/good song? First of all I appreciate the throwback to the late 90s/early 00s eurodance/synthpop music that was popular back then, I think it does a great job imitating the vibes of it, but at the same time is it just me or this song feels so...calculated and has this eurovision-specific formula in its structure/sound? It was definitely made for it being performed live and to pander to the yass queen slay ate and left no crumbs-side of the fandom? Which honestly kinda drags it down a lot for me.

27. Sweden - I can't unhear parts of Air in this, well actually that's their style, neat electro pop tbh, I can bop to this, pretty enjoyable.

28. Moldova - Falls flat but what makes it a bit stronger is the vocalisations in the chorus, as well as the lil ethnic sounds. That drum is also quite catchy. They have to pull out a wonder-staging for this to qualify.

29. Georgia - If Georgia isn't qualifying with this one then that means their only hope is borrowing Loreen at this point. It's a competent girl bop with powerful vocals, that has a dedicated following, but I appreciate that even if it's a girl bop it's not so aggressively in your face like...other examples I've seen before. I'm personally not big on it, but it's nice.

30. Azerbaijan - Oh? Azerbaijan sends something in their language, what is this 2050? And not with a melfest reject? For the 2nd year in a row? I'm very impressed, but even with all these I don't feel that attached to the song, just glad they took a risk instead of renting a swede for safe qualification like they did in the past years. I love the ethnic touches though.

31. Luxembourg - Cute and peppy french bop, although a bit generic and that's about it, no strong feelings.

32. Cyprus - Mmm your regular girlie pop of the year, unsurprisingly from Cyprus as well. Pretty catchy, has a cool vibe but I'm not feeling anything about it.

33. United Kingdom - Just a competent mid-tempo boy bop, honestly nothing much to say since it kinda failed to impress me. Good effort though.

34. Albania - I don't get why they changed it into english, why they turned it more upbeat (I liked the balladier version more) and the rap part feels disjointed. Albania wanted to relive their 2016-2017 era I see.

35. Germany - I'm sorry but this song bores me to death and can't listen to it without zoning out which is a shame because he's a competent singer (his voice is the best thing about Germany this year) and I'm afraid they're again heading for a bottom 3 finish 💀

36. Iceland - Mmm this isn't is, Iceland. Very sorry. Sounds like it would get 13th in 2004, it's a very by-the-letters eurodance.

I will not rank Israel here. It's still mind-boggling that they're still allowed to participate.

[flash-the-readies]

Pink Floyd Songs I recommend that are not “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2″, “Money”, “Wish You Were Here”, and so on

So I was inspired by @afemalesebastian​ ‘s post about the Kinks and decided to do the same with a band that I have spent extensive time with and feel confident saying that I know their catalogue fairly well. Anyways, go check out all the Kink’s bangers they mentioned.

This is my personal list and isn’t based on anything other than “I really love this song”. I tried to stay away from the big four concept albums of “Dark Side”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Animals”, “The Wall”... the only advice that can be given for those is: listen to the whole album. One last thing, all songs are best experienced through headphones.

The Entire “Hour With Pink Floyd” KQED radio set

Setlist: Atom Heart Mother Suite; Cymbaline; Grantchester Meadows; Green is the Colour; Careful With that Axe, Eugene; Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

I Attached a link to the Youtube playlist because I don’t think Spotify has these versions, and also it’s great fun to watch. This setlist includes a. lot of early 70s Pink Floyd concert staples. Early 70s live Floyd was unmatched, the studio versions do not compare. You never realise how beautiful a song Green is the Colour is until you listen to it live. I have so many words for this set nghhhh. Also, Grantchester Meadows is one of my favourite songs. It’s straight up pastoral poetry and is steeped in nostalgia. I like this version best, and I love when Roger and David share vocals

If - Atom Heart Mother

Here’s a theme for you: I’m a whore for Roger’s folksy songs, whoops. The three “solo” songs on the album are so worth it (If, Summer ‘68, Fat Old Sun), but I personally have to pick this one. It’s so fucking tragic and simplistically beautiful. Got some of that introspection and isolation, good tea. Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s poem by the same name. Also the slide electric guitar is a real treat... also, Roger’s voice is so soft ;-;

Point Me at the Sky - Single

I like it, okay. It’s like a little novelty song, okay, back when Pink Floyd was still trying to write singles. Also holds some themes on the passage of time and blah blah which is seen extensively in Pink Floyd’s catalogue

Biding My Time - Relics

Okay.. It’s kitschy, I know. It’s got that jazzy feel (curtesy of Rick and his trombone) and that blues feel. Once again with that wacky jam session in the middle that defines early Pink Floyd. Also go off Nick with the drums!

Pow R. Toc H. - Piper at the Gates of Dawn

I’m a whore for weird mouth noises, and this has an abundance of them. Once again with the quintessential Floyd jam session. I’d say mono is best here since stereo is a bit mind-fucky (y’know early stereo is a struggle.. although I wouldn’t say it was too horrible with Pink Floyd), anyways, if you’re in the mood for weird sensory stuff, then stereo is great... this song is just a sensory nightmare, so tread carefully.

“The Pink Jungle” from their “Man and the Journey” suite, 17. September 1969 Amsterdam show, is EXTRA demonic and chaotic. Warning tho, there’s some slurping noises at the end. Nick carrying the band fr

Pillow of Winds - Meddle

although to be honest, the entirety of Meddle is where it’s at. Considering I listen to this song every night I had to include it. A love song :D, and it’s really pretty and drowsy. Again with the pastoral poetry, a very ambient piece (that’s just Pink Floyd in general) and the ever present themes of anxiety

Here’s some definitions since I’ve been asked a couple of times:

eiderdown: a quilt filled with down (originally from the eider) or some other soft material.

eider: small, soft feathers from the breast of the female eider duck

Wot’s...Uh the Deal - Obscured by Clouds

Another fan favourite. It’s just so beautiful. The whole album is really pleasant listen and has so many hidden gems. Again with the passage of time, steeped in a deep sense of melancholia with a sprinkle of wistfulness. The steel guitar solo is also a real treat. I also like Burning Bridges, Stay, Childhood’s End, Free Four a great deal and,... I’m giving Free Four it’s own spot on this list. 

Free Four - Obscured by Clouds

this is the cheery song about death an the passage of time. The Hand-clapping just gets me, y’know. And the EMS VCS 3 synth is so crunchy, It’s great. If you you’re one of those people tired of Roger “whining” about his dad, then here’s an alternate take on that. Me? I’ll take any number of songs about Roger’s dad and trauma though

Nobody Home - The Wall

Okay okay, I chose a Wall song, BUT I would call this one a Wall Deep Cut, and It’s one of the most beautiful songs in their catalogue. There’s just this overwhelming sadness to it. You’ve got your nods to Syd, you’ve got your empty comforts, isolation, a non-ending, just a beautiful string of words

What Shall We Do Now - The Wall

THIS song. Yep, the one most people prefer to Empty spaces and... It rocks SO HARD. Added a link to the audio on Youtube since it’s not on spotify. Roger has a version of it from his Wall tour, but I prefer the one from the original Pink Floyd shows. The drums are phenomenal, the aggressiveness (not often associated with Pink Floyd), the flow of the lyrics, the deep growl of the guitar and the vocals (particularly in “shall we drive a more powerful car”). The animation that accompanies it in the film is one of my favourites. Talk about coping in unhealthy ways 

The Gunner’s Dream - The Final Cut

Yes yes yes it’s that infamous album...I get it.. love it or hate it, I personally adore it. If there’s one song on the album I think you should listen to, it’s this one right here... I’d also say it’s one of THE SADDEST songs in their catalogue. This bloody song has made me cry multiple times. Again with the dissolution of the post war dream and an anti-war anthem. Makes reference to the famous lines:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England

 from Rupert Brooke’s poem, “The Soldier”. 

I’ll say, Roger’s vocals really go with this one, they’re so raw and oozing of emotion. Also that sax solo??? mmm yum

Not Now John - The Final Cut

Another uncharacteristically aggressive song. But oh man, the field noises in this are SO GOOD it makes me cry (in a happy way this time). You have to have to have to listen to this with headphones. Whoops I included two Final Cut songs, but I love that album

Poles Apart - Division Bell  

I’ll say, this is my favourite song on the album. Also David talking to Syd and Roger, so hey. I love his voice on this album, and the wistfulness in this song speaks to my heart. There’s also this chaotic instrumental ambiance bit in the middle that’s giving haunted merry-go-round lost childhood kind of vibes, and I love that.

Take it Back - Division Bell

Big fan. It’s like a tragic, wistful environmentalist love song. Note the nurse rhyme “Ring a Ring O’Roses at 3:02).

Embryo

specifically the 30. September 1971 BBC Radio session. But “Picnic” is also a classic version, and shorter. The jam session goes so hard!  And then you feel like you’re just chilling, floating in embryonic fluids. I can’t stress enough how much I love this song, I have been working on learning it on bass. This other version includes children laughing and such as well as the same feedback on Echoes (16. July 1970) ... wow, turns out I just like creepy haunted children field sounds.

Okay, this was a lot longer than I was expecting and it took ... way too long to complete. But that’s my list! ... I have concluded that I just like sad songs, whoops. Here’s a spotify playlist. Not all of the versions I mentioned here are available, so I put alternate picks.

[danceofthephilos]

Thus Fate Knocks at the Door - Adam, Eve, and Beethoven's 5th Symphony

SK8 as a series almost exclusively utilizes its (excellent) bespoke soundtrack for its music, but there are a few conspicuous exceptions, all to do with Adam. Specifically, there are two notable scenes in episodes 1 and 5 that make use of Beethoven's 5th Symphony—as music that he is, in-universe, listening and humming along to as he watches Langa skate for the first time, and as the score to the scene where he first declares Langa his "Eve."

This isn't an arbitrary choice of a famous piece of classical music, but representative of a consistent theme in Adam's characterization, especially in regards to his feelings toward Langa: his preoccupation with fate and the idea that they were destined to be together.

One doesn't have to look very far to draw a connection between this and Beethoven's 5th Symphony; there are a variety of unconfirmed stories about the origin of the famous four-note motif at the beginning of the piece, but the most famous comes from an account by Beethoven's secretary, Anton Schindler.

The composer himself provided the key to these depths when one day, in this author's presence, he pointed to the beginning of the first movement and expressed in these words the fundamental idea of his work: "Thus Fate knocks at the door!"

Schindler's writings on Beethoven after his death are... unreliable, to say the least, with many of his stories about the composer known to be outright fabricated, so it's very likely that this story is apocryphal. Nonetheless, it's one that's ingrained in public consciousness, and the influence of this particular account is especially obvious in Japan, where the whole symphony is known by the title "運命", or "Fate". It could even be said to be better known by this title than just its real name; if you search "交響曲第5番" on Youtube, Spotify, or even look at Japanese CD jackets, it is invariably referred to as 運命.

運命 is a word Adam himself uses in the show, in the preview at the end of episode 4, translated here as "destiny":

This concept of fate/destiny is one that permeates Adam's entire search for "Eve"—a desire to find someone "just for him", as he puts it in the flashback in episode 8.

The title for episode 8 itself refers to fate, albeit with the word 宿命 rather than 運命—with the title first being shown over the shot revealing the "fated tournament" in question being named "White Eden Wedding Beef".

There's a bit of nuance to 宿命 and 運命—strictly speaking, 運命 refers to fate that can change in one's lifetime, while 宿命 refers to fate set in stone before one is even born. Regardless, they're near-synonymous; the tournament named for the Garden of Eden, that Adam holds for the specific purpose of skating with Langa again, is called fated.

Both words for fate/destiny also appear in the lyrics to the Japanese version of Behind the Mask:

The boundary line of fate, an unseen answer To that unfulfilled love Gotta feel it, the never-ending thrill

Sparks spread high Let's go to the depths of the colored rainbow and speed Yes, now, dancing in the midst of destiny I devote my love

The first uses 宿命, while the second uses 運命 (though pronounced "sadame" rather than "unmei" as it usually is here; this is a common enough affectation in lyrics, though さだめ does typically have the same implication of totally fixed fate as 宿命.) The first chorus also has the same line about "dancing in the midst of destiny" in it, but I chose this one for the fact that the direct reference to the Zone ("the depths of the colored rainbow") makes clearest that this version of the song, presented as being sung by Adam, is also directed at Langa.

Even the Chill Out! manga, lighthearted as the comics are, zero in on this fixation on fate/destiny in two different comics showing Adam's inner thoughts.

There's Line∞6, where, in his daydreams, Adam imagines Langa saying "この気持ち… もしかして愛抱夢が… 俺の運命のアダム…?" ("This feeling... Could Adam be... my destined Adam...?", using katakana for the biblical Adam to distinguish from Adam's S name in kanji), as though Langa has been searching for "his Adam" in the same way:

And Line∞8, where Adam refers to himself as Langa's "運命の伴侶"—soulmate, or literally "destined partner":

So it's this throughline, specifically in regards to Langa, that's reflected in the choice of music in episodes 1 and 5. The very first time he lays eyes on Langa, and when his heart is really set on Langa being his Eve—his "destined partner"—Adam truly does believe it's fate that they met, and the crew chose a song with such a heavy link to fate to represent his state of mind.

[rudojudo]

Giant of Light Playlists

Inspired by some posts I saw, I put together a playlist of music for the GoL experience. Then I split it in two, because of the duality built into the game. They might not be perfect for background music, since they're a bit lyric heavy in a way that might distract from the table, but there are some connections I'm happy with. Also, they work on shuffle, but the order is intended to make a rough sketch of an Episode of play from either perspective. They're on Spotify:

Side A: Heroes

Side B: Kaiju

And of course you can buy the game here.

If you don't use Spotify (I don't blame you), there's a track listing below, along with commentary, because I love to explain myself.

Side A: Heroes

-Goshowa Kudasai Ware no Na wo! (Endo Masaki)

This is the opening theme to Ultraman Z. Obviously, I was going to include some music from the franchise, but I didn't want it to be the whole playlist. I chose this one because the title and opening line translates to "I ask that you chant my name," which is a wonderful bit of poetry asking for faith.

-The Legend of Chavo Guerrero (The Mountain Goats)

This is about that faith from the other side, a song about having a hero. "The telecast's in Spanish, I can understand some / and I need justice in my life, here it comes," devastates me every time.

-Starman (David Bowie)

Maybe a bit obvious, but all the same, Ultraman is full of visitors from space whose differences from humanity leave them alienated, but still capable of seeing the beauty and value of the Earth.

-Hands (Oishi Masayoshi)

Theme to Ultraman R/B and my personal favorite theme in the whole franchise. The leads in this series have no experience or training and are thrown into the deep end and I like the way this track reflects the drive to stay positive. "These are the things we shouldn't have to protect."

-Pump it Up (Elvis Costello and the Attractions)

This represents the rising tension in the "Episode" happening here. The thumping, elegant bass line and lyrics about matching intensity always begged for an action scene in my mind.

-Brave Love, TIGA (Kagaku Tokusoutai, not the original version, this is a group that does covers of tokusatsu songs)

This is the ending theme to Ultraman Tiga and it's a bit of a parallel to Legend of Chavo Guerrero, since it's a plea to the title character. It's a child, asking their hero, please, do the things I can't. Protect the world. Show me how to be brave.

-X Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX)

Am I guilty of coming to the same conclusion as the writers of the Deadpool movie? Yes. But as a Millennial, I defy you to find a track that more powerfully says that shit is about to go down.

-Veridis Quo (Daft Punk)

Something wholly without lyrics to depict the final fight. I've always thought that the melody of this song implied a situation that's rapidly becoming more complicated.

-Dare (Stan Bush)

Come the man, cometh the hour, this is the personal theme of Hot Rod from The Transformers: The Movie (1986). Hot Rod is the chosen one, even if he doesn't know it until the end, but his theme is all about being brave enough to become the person needed. Also, the sample character Ultraman Giant Hero Cadmium is a direct reference to Hot Rod, including the piece of character art he's in.

-Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) (ABBA)

I think the transition from the last track to this one is the best thing I do in either playlist. Again, this is a song about who you want around when things get bad. Also feels final, like the fight can be won here.

-BRAND NEW WORLD (Miura Jam BR)

This is the opening theme to my favorite arc of One Piece (Enies Lobby), but that's incidental. Here, the track represents the "new world" created by the Main Characters in saving the day, and the moment of joy together after it happens.

-Ultraman 80 (Kagaku Tokusoutai, again a cover)

"He came to us from the stars." Nothing more than a moment of gratitude for this immense power that joins together with us to protect our world. Ultraman gets a bit religious (by design, the life of the original creator Tsuburaya Eiji was often defined by faith). Also a relaxing end to represent the "end credits."

Side B- Kaiju

-Trigger (Sakuma Takao)

This side's less optimistic, more conflicted, but I still wanted to open with a theme, this time from Ultraman Trigger. It's a bit more aggressive, all about letting loose. Doesn't connect to that show much, but it's exactly what's happening here.

-When You're Evil (Aurelio Voltaire)

Being self-consciously "evil" is mostly the provenance of teenagers, but there's a sort of immaturity to a lot of the Kaiju Users I took inspiration from when writing the game. There's a certain kind of person who says to themself "no, I'm bad, really, I'm dangerous, watch out!"

-Wolf Like Me (TV on the Radio)

Another approach to playing a Kaiju User is to have werewolf vibes: "this is something inside me and when I let it out, you should run." This is a good song to depict prowling around town, looking for trouble.

-Life on Mars? (David Bowie)

An intentional parallel to Side A, another Bowie track using aliens as a metaphor for alienation. This one's a bit grittier, more critical of society, and more explicitly Queer, which is why it's on this side.

-Werewolf Gimmick (The Mountain Goats)

Like I said, this vibe is strong. The theme of performance (and taking that performance too far) is also a good link to the way a Kaiju User might play with their public image.

-V: The Stand (Man or Machine) (The Protomen)

This song ruled my college years. With a fight imminent, two people who would rather not fight argue, proving why they have to. In your games, the primary Kaiju User can even be either side of the fight, depending on how you've built things up.

-It Has To Be This Way - Platinum Mix (Jimmy Gnecco)

Meme music it may be, but this is great for being the next phase of that argument as the fists start flying. It's only from one perspective, which is fun, because the speaker might be completely off-base about the similarities between the two fighters (which is the case in the game it's written for, a lot of the memes and such overlook that).

-Foreign Object (The Mountain Goats)

Kaiju Users are often at a disadvantage, and this song really captures the spirit of fighting uphill because you're meaner and even if you can't win, you'll make your opponent regret it.

-KARATE (BABYMETAL)

This is the song for the main fight here, picked mostly for sheer kinetic energy. BABYMETAL's trademark pop idol/heavy metal contrast here is the symbol for the fact that a lot of Kaiju may be city-destroying beasts, but people on the internet will still look at them and say "what a good dog!"

-Light Up The Night (The Protomen)

Sometimes, winning means being willing to burn yourself up.

-Hero (The Verve Pipe)

The mirror spot to When You're Evil for a reason. This is the truth at the core of that facade, that underneath the way they scorn humanity and embrace their outcast status with mischief, they really long to be accepted. And something that GoL tries to say is that you can be, even if your powers are scary and destructive, you can still be a hero, no matter what your self-loathing says.

-ZERO to INFINITY (Miyano Mamoru)

Another track from the franchise, this is the theme to the web series Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy, which is mostly a big crossover punch-em-up. But here, I like the optimism of saying you can get to the end of your path as long as you keep pushing, which can be applied to Kaiju Users of many different moral orientations.

Whew! So I started out trying to not repeat artists at all, let alone on the same playlist, but it couldn't be helped, Beat The Champ by The Mountain Goats is the best album about wrestling ever (not a high bar, mind, but it's very good), and the parallels between pro wrestling and tokusatsu are very deep. Anyway, have fun, let me know your thoughts on the listening experience, and play the game!

[holeynightsky]

overthinking albums: scaled and icy

welcome to the first edition of overthinking albums, where i spew my brainrot nonsense all over the internet and attempt to make every song in an album connect to something within the same fandom!! this is a torment my brain will not cease haha fun game i've played with myself for years. counter-arguments, improvements, and other recommendations are all welcome & encouraged!!

today's album: scaled and icy by twenty one pilots, which can be found here on spotify. today's fandom: percy jackson.

good day - a cornerstone. captures the general light energy of the whole series. a good song, that's what it is. (for character matching, gut instinct says leo but that is based on nothing.)

choker - i mean, is there any clearer demigod anthem?? the angst, the hope, the general "fuck it i'll do it myself"-ness???? sdjfaksjd the demigods who go on quests and realize their godly parents aren't going to come save them + i see no volunteers to cosign on my fears / ... / nobody's comin' for me???

shy away - a thalia & luke song. not them together romantically, but come with me on this journey: this one is a theme that keeps coming up throughout the series, sometimes the way TTP played it, sometimes in a minor key, sometimes slowed + reverb. for thalia, it's a reminder that she broke out of the cycle of death for big 3 kids, a victory over her destiny. for luke, a darker, slower version with more bass: when you get home / you barely recognize the pictures / they put in a frame / ... / don't circle the track / take what you have / and leave your skin on the floor. he sees himself as the hero of the piece, breaking the cycle, but the audience can see bits of humanity flaking away as the ends justify the means. at the end of TLO, we hear a slowed acoustic version play as thalia sits in the ruin and luke is gone: when i get home / boy, you better not be there / you're long gone.

the outside - this one is a bit trickier, assuming you don't want to take the obvious track (percy theme, i am a megalodon, ocean's feeling like a pond / swimming like a beast, underneath they be clinging on). but more specifically, i'd argue this is a percy at new rome. even if he can't place what they are, he know he's done major quests (i'm pretty sure i've seen this one before / i've got a long drive, i'll tape my eyes / so i don't fall asleep again). being a child of "neptune" leaves him isolated, and forming an alliance with the other outcasts is what allows them to succeed. the little cogs got together, start a renaissance.

saturday - the lotus casino. is this on the nose? yes. do i care? no. i have strong emotions and i will listen to them like a good internet kid. as they say, these are my dancing shoes.

never take it - this one is debatable--either octavian or the gods. i lean towards the gods, personally--i could see it being an ethan nakamura-type anthem, raging against the lies and general neglect demigods are subject to. i mean can't you just see it in your head, him bopping along in an oversized leather jacket, headphones blasting? they're trying hard to weaponize / you and i, we'll never take it / they're asking for a second try / you and i, we'll never take it. and then, towards the end of his epic, cut-too-short story: they profit from a great divide / you and i, we'll never take it. don't look at me, i'm sobbing.

mulberry street - a solangelo song, in my humble opinion. but like... older, more comfortable in their skins solangelo? nico will never stop being an emo kid (keep your sunny days / leave us in the rain / ... / you can have your sunny days / we will live between them), and he shouldn't have to! he can be emo and still live a fulfilling life! but also, will's influence is there reminding him to enjoy every day. there's nothing wrong with this / we just wanna feel it all.

formidable - percabeth!!! are you kidding me?? yes. percabeth. you are formidable to me / 'cause you seem to know it, where you wanna go / ... / i'm just worried my loyalty will bore you. are. you. kidding. me. ??? all of the percabeth feels.

bounce man - grover and percy's bromance! it's the perfect anthem of "i know we haven't talked in three years, but i'd still die for you", which i would argue is what that friendship is. i feel like sometimes you get close enough, go through enough, that time stops really being a factor. there are friends i haven't spoken to in five years, and if they showed up with a dead body, i'd grab a shovel without asking any questions. also, such a grover line: oh boy, what'd you do? don't matter now / if you need a piece, i'll break it down.

no chances - a big battle piece, with verses serving as a chance to flash back to individual arcs! mm bada-dum bada-dum dum is slowmo overhead shots that sweep across the battle; we come for you, no chances is individual combat. during rapid-fire verses, we cut back to quick shots of little moments that changed our protags: leo standing in bunker 9, piper on the deck of the argo, percy looking at moonlace growing in the planterbox at his apartment.

redecorate - we started with a general demigod anthem, and we end with one too. is there any character who doesn't fit this, either? i don't want to go like this / at least let me clean my room / 'cause the last thing i want to do is / make my people make decisions / wondering what to do. leo, nico, piper, percy, reyna--everyone's got that nihilistic, is-this-how-i-go streak.

thanks for tuning in to today's edition of overthinking albums!!! please come scream with me about these books & this music, and share any hot takes <3

[meat-wentz]

Not to be creepy but I’ve been lurking through all your playlists on Spotify because of the pool boy one and duuuuuude their so good! I know you mentioned having a process about playlists so can you spill your secrets because apparently I need to up my playlist game.

omgggg not creepy at all, ty for listening to my brain worms!!!! ALSO THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO CREATE PERFECT PLAYLISTS. buckle up for a long post. (links at the end lol)

this is a habit primarily formed out of two things:

1) making personalized mix cds for my friends through high school and into college because i never had money to buy them gifts for birthdays or holidays. (literally a core tenant of this practice was starting every mix with money by the drums so they knew “i want to buy you something but i don’t have any money”). this helps you cater your music taste to a specific person, encapsulate who they are to you, and also what you want to give them as a sign of your affection, whether it be a song that aligns with their music taste, or a song that sends a message (i want to buy you something), or just something that describes the relationship you two have. this skill helps a lot when you move from friends to characters and shaping those characters in your brain!

2) watching a lot of movies, promptly downloading the soundtracks onto my ipod and studying them throughout high school and college. in fact, much of my music taste has been formed by my favorite movies so i always recommend putting on your favorite soundtracks and studying the way they capture the feeling, atmosphere, visuals, and narrative of the movie they’re attached to.

^ this has also helped me INFINITELY with writing, fiction or non-fiction, i always need to be completely immersed when i write and what i listen to is soooo important in keeping me in the headspace. for instance i wrote an huge portion of an essay on haunted houses as physical/traumatized bodies solely listening to get out of my house by kate bush on repeat for like months.

i typically start with a few things if i’m going for a more themed, narrative playlist: a title, three core songs, and a sort of visual guide (typically a playlist cover, could be a bit of a mood board if you prefer), a little bit of a one or two sentence narrative in the back of my head.

title says what it’s going to be and keeps you in the headspace, similarly with the cover art. these things keep me from straying too far from the sound or narrative im attempting to set up. getting distracted during playlists is easy to do!! you might want to put every cheeky vampire song on the damn thing but that’s not what we’re here to do! we keep it concise, it’s a curation, specifically selected songs in a specifically set order. this is why it’s always good to have that one or two sentence plot in the back of your head along with the three core songs. they’re like your beginning, middle and end. use those three songs to build from sound-wise and narrative-wise/transition from the beginning to the middle to the end.

you’ll notice that pool boy at the vampire mansion has three separate sections: a short opening of three songs about swimming/wetness/being sexy (focus on the fact that he’s a damn pool boy), a middle which is mostly funky little covers of disco/groove songs all surrounding the center piece stayin alive, all very sexy (pool shed sex chapter), and then the maneating blood fiend portion at the end, songs that focus on blood, murder, maneating, etc (pool boy now fully aware his employers are blood-sucking fiends). transitioning from one chapter to the next with a little side step into the 80’s and back out.

REMEMBER: COVERS ARE YOUR FRIEND. it would not have made sense for my personal ear to hear the original versions of the little disco chapter, instead opting for more industrial grit, dirty guitar noises, heavy bass, growling or screamy or sultry vocals, AND COVERS HELP ME ACHIEVE THAT. you’ll also notice the sexy boy motif, beginning with the og and ending with a dramatic sweeping strings cover, it shows we start somewhere and we end up somewhere else, the same but changed in a notable way (i do this a lot with specifically character based playlists). beginnings and ends are very important, sometimes i mirror them sonically, sometimes literally through good use of a cover, sometimes i’ll even opt for, like, pure atmosphere like wood larks chirping in a forest ssoundscape, no music at all.

puns and subverting songs to fit your needs creates a rich a layered text!! for instance “i’m your boogie man” means hello i boogie down on the dance floor, but in the context of a vampire playlist: that’s a literal boogieman in your closet.

also references are everything for people listening who will get it even if others don’t. this is why i pay so much attention to soundtracks! like you may not see operate by peaches as a halloween song but guess the fuck what it’s the song that plays during the halloween party in mean girls. you may not see backstreet’s back as a halloween song but if you watch the music video, that’s a fucking halloween song. make the reference!! it’s rewarding!! fit songs to your needs!!

i’ve mentioned this before but i got a lot of experience just being on 8tracks and listening to themed playlists there for years on end, as well as finding a BUNCH of music i wouldn’t have found otherwise.

some general rules i like to abide by:

personal playlists can be whatever, but themed playlists should adhere to a specific order and flow, as well as limiting play time to an hour and a half at most (feature film length or, generally i go for hour playlists that are the length of a good hour long episode of television)

generally try to limit the same artist to two or three songs at most, and never next to each other unless it’s like a FEATURE that those songs are next to each other.

spotify recommends proves to be a useful tool if you’re stuck.

i try to be subtle. if im making a playlist about a certain film, i won’t use a song from the actual movie, or i’ll opt for a cover of a song from the film instead. if i’m making a playlist about gerard or frank or whoever, i won’t put any of their music on the playlist (i will however use music they’ve mentioned liking). if im making a vampire playlist or a fairy playlist or whatever, i’ll try to avoid vampire or fairy songs and opt for songs about like blood or fangs or the forest instead.

also rules were made to be broken! i break my rules all the time! my style will not be everyone’s but ive found it to be successful for my playlist needs and also just generally in aiding my creativity. i will now plug some of my favorite themed playlists ive made:

Pool Boy at the Vampire Mansion

I’ll See You in My Dreams: A Twin Peaks Love Story

Misty Mud-Laiden Moors

Fever Dreams of the Erl King and His Thorny Touch

A Sleepy Western Motel Crawling with Vampire Cowboys

Songs for Sleuthing

Teenaged Outlaws

Ivy Leagues & Old Money

Anthems for Slutty Mechanics

The Flaxen-Haired Maiden and the Knight of the Seelie Court

NEW!! Sit. Stay. Beg.

i should also mention that i have a few reserve playlists of JUST music to add to playlists at some point, organized into: songs i just want to weasel in somewhere or will be helpful later, just covers, atmospheric or instrumental, and just generally spooky or sexy songs waiting to be somewhere. sometimes i’ll scroll through each of those and be like aha! a theme!! and go for it!!

[theartistknownaslymond]

Post-canon F/P for the playlist ask please (possibly around Philippa and Joleta’s girls night out?)

So! I already did a mini-playlist for the girls' night out fic(s) (link1, link2), and didn't want to let an F/P playlist get taken over by the kind of stuff Joleta might sing karaoke to (which is actually very valid and good music, just not very F/P! If anyone wants that playlist too, just drop me an ask...)

And then, that decided, the first draft of the playlist trashed, I just spent an age trying to work out what actual romantic music there was from the '80s/early '90s. Of course, one track remained through all my editing, and that was a Kate Bush one. Finally, I am pleased with what has come together though.

tant que je vive

a band AU playlist for Francis and Philippa facing the open sea 💙🌊

1) Bert Jansch - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face 2) R.E.M. - Strange Currencies 3) Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night 4) Cock Robin - The Promise You Made 5) Richard Thompson - King of Bohemia 6) 10,000 Maniacs - Trouble Me 7) R.E.M. - Perfect Circle 8) Kate Bush - The Sensual World 9) Anne Briggs - Willie O'Winsbury 10) Peter et Sloane - C'est la vie d'château avec toi 11) Maurice Jarre - Lara's Theme 12) Björk - Venus As A Boy 13) Nick Drake - Northern Sky 14) Nic Jones - Master Kilby 15) The Cure - Close To Me 16) Black - Wonderful Life 17) ABBA - Waterloo

As before, fcs are Johnny Flynn and Lucy Farrell. Discussion under the cut.

*Deep breath* No pressure, says Dorothy. It's just that Francis and Philippa are SO IN LOVE, so PERFECT for one another, so ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH that how could anyone else possibly understand (Jo this isn't about your Jerott issues shut up). She'd die for him. He'd die without her. They're going to be *SO HAPPY* when they're together but they did their best to make it deeply angsty beforehand. So what the hell do you put on their playist?! I had a few modern songs for them, but I'm enjoying keeping these a bit more period appropriate, so had to have a go. Some tracks are here for the lyrics, some are here for the vibes. I think it's mostly a fun playlist and not too angsty, but. I'm not sure what you need to ask for to unlock the Cheesiest Timeline of this AU yet, so just keep sending requests until we get there, I guess?

1) because the modern Offa Rex version is one of my ultimate Songs For Them. I couldn't find a period version with lyrics that I liked as much, but Bert Jansch is a Scottish folk guitar legend and this is a lovely instrumental version. 2) AU Francis/Philippa vibes are a bit...what if Michael Stipe's stage persona and Natalie Merchant were stayed together and wrote beautiful, impenetrable, complicated pop/rock/folk/grunge hits together? 3) I don't think I need to explain this one. It's a great big romantic I'd-do-anything song. 4) *smugly places a song about promises on an F/P fic*  oh no wait now pain. Because you lot get to suffer too, here are ALL the lyrics to a song Spotify randomly recommended for this playlist that is more F/P than anything I could have come up with myself: If I laid down my love To come to your defense Would you worry for me With a pain in your chest? Could I rely on your faith to be strong To pick me back up and to push me along? Tell me

You'll be there in my hour of need You won't turn me away Help me out of the life I lead Remember the promise you made Remember the promise you made If I gave you my soul For a piece of your mind Would you carry me with you To the far edge of time? Could you understand if you found me untrue Would we become one, or divided in two Please tell me

You'll be there in my hour of need You won't turn me away Help me out of the life I lead Remember the promise you made Remember the promise you made

Could I rely on your faith to be strong To pick me back up and to push me along? Please tell me

You'll be there in my hour of need You won't turn me away Help me out of the life I lead Remember the promise you made Remember the promise you made Remember the promise you made Remember the promise you made 5) This has also been a longstanding F/P song of mine, and I figured 1994 was just about early enough for it to be period-appropriate in a post-canon playlist. 6) Again with the Natalie Merchant. She may be more of a Kate fc, but this song is pure F/P: Have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning Please don't hide them just because of tears Let me Send you off to sleep with a "There, there, now stop your turning and tossing" Let me Know where the hurt is and how to heal Spare me? Don't spare me anything troubling 7) This one is for the Vibes. I just think it's *beautiful*. 8) This is the Kate Bush song that stayed on every version of this playlist. Based on the final chapter of Ulysses - literary and sexy, just like Francis and Philippa. 9) Again, broadly vibes rather than lyrics - the mysterious blond can be Francis, sure, but the main thing is it's a fairly consensual and lovely folk song, and I love this version by Anne Briggs so much. 10) Because I put their biggest hit on the angsty Francis pining playlist, I thought they'd like one where they just get to enjoy it. 11) The balalaika on Willie O'Winsbury reminded me of this, and again, it's a big iconic love song. 12) A bit on the literary and sexy side again. 13) I only encountered The Most Cheerful Nick Drake SongTM through a cover by my faves, Maximo Park, but I think Francis and Philippa deserve it in any iteration. 14) Another Romantic Folk Song for the vibes! Nic Jones was one of the most astonishingly brilliant folk guitarists. 15) Vibes. Robert Smith said it's meant to be unsettling, but I actually think it's just gorgeous? Also Francis 'I've waited hours for this / I've made myself so sick' Crawford finally realising Philippa wants him back. 16) Just vibes again. Even though the lyrics have him on his own, he still longs for another. Plus sea, plus blue eyes, etc. Too beautiful to leave off. Sun in your eyes The heat is in your hair They seem to hate you Because you're there And I need a friend Oh, I need a friend To make me happy Not stand here on my own Look at me standing Here on my own again Up straight in the sunshine

No need to run and hide It's a wonderful, wonderful life No need to laugh and cry It's a wonderful, wonderful life 17) Yes I meant to put this version on.

[lexiklecksi]

Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. Then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals. 🎶🎧💜💙🤗

Cool, thanks for thinking of me! Though this will be a wild mix of 5 songs from my favourites playlist with over 2000 songs ... The only common theme might be that I love live music and mash-ups.

This is a genius collaboration of a German rapper with a string quartet and an Arabic poem in the end (a great first song for my wild mix)

I have loved this song since my sister played it for me and I still like it, even though I'm not really into metal, but it slaps. It is truly unique how complex the musical arrangements are!

Dan Reynolds is right for acknowledging Taylor Swift's melody writing of Blanc Space. Stand by Me is a beautiful love song and Imagine Dragons performing a mash-up of both love songs is just genius. Can we all appreciate how smooth this sounds?

Another live mash-up: Miley Cyrus singing her song "We can't stop" with Pixie's "Where is my mind?" is just epic!

You have to listen to this! I have no words for this amazing piece of music; it's pure bliss for your ears. I am so jealous of every person who had the luck to experience this live performance. In a way, Michael Patrick Kelly is a bit underrated for the pop songs he made. After all, he is a musical genius.

[randomvarious]

1990s German Techno Playlist (YouTube)

Started putting together a small playlist of some of my personal 90s German techno favorites for you all to enjoy for this week 😎. It's not definitive by any means, but with this first iteration, I think this thing still presents a pretty nice range of different types of techno, from the deep and rumbling, hypnotic basement kind to the main-room-of-the-club floor-stomping kind 😤. And despite the fact that most of these selections come from a small handful of Germany's most well-established dance and techno labels—Harthouse, Tresor, and the qualitative-over-quantitative Chain Reaction—I'd say that, given the YouTube play counts for a lot of these tracks, that most of them are a tad bit obscure too 👍.

Ich und meine buddies vibing to ze German 90s tekno

But while almost all of these tunes are by German acts that were released by German labels, the track that we happen to kick off with here, an eleven-plus minute piece of acid-drenched sci-fi psychosis from 1993 called "Blanche," by a short-lived duo from Mainz who called themselves Purple Plejade, is not from a German label at all, but is instead from a Dutch label called Djax-Up-Beats. Purple Plejade was made up of a couple notable German techno names in Holger Wick and Thomas P. Heckmann, but the two of them together only put out a couple of 12-inches, and "Blanche" was their first. Now, there's a scratchy ten-minute version of this song that's already on YouTube, that I think was uploaded back when the maximum length of your video could only be ten minutes, and that thing has over 41,000 plays on it. But this *full,* extra-minute-plus affair, as Gott originally intended it to be heard, only has under 11,000 plays across a bunch of different YouTube uploads, by comparison.

Now let's talk about a couple other favorites on here: one floor-stomper and one that's headily sublime. The floor-stomper comes courtesy of Bad Nauheim's Patrick Lindsey, who in 1996 released a 12-inch called The Phat Jive on Harthouse. And the title track on that release is what you get when you pair some melody that's reminiscent of a theme song from one of those syndicated reality court shows that airs on TV in the afternoons with some snaky, beeping synths and smacking four-on-the-floor percussion to then overwhelm it. A unique fucking banger that's sitting at over 1,300 plays.

And for that headily sublime one, which closes us out, we have a tune from Berlin's DisX3, aka Alexander Kowalski, who in 1999 put out a 12-inch on Tresor called Sequenzed_Function E.P., which kicked off its b-side with "Bored Meat." This stunner's loaded up with a fuck-ton of Richter scale-registering drums to form its rhythmic foundation, but where it really kills is with its weakly plonking, contrastingly high-pitched synth melody that gets placed atop of it all, while including a bunch of jingling hi-hats too. Basically, if you really love yourself some techno music, this is a track that should simply pierce your mechanically-made soul 🤤. And it's only been listened to less than ten thousand times on YouTube!

This playlist is ordered as chronologically as possible:

Purple Plejade - "Blanche" Patrick Lindsey - "Prepare to Jam" Patrick Lindsey - "The Phat Jive" Porter Ricks - "Port of Transition" Alter Ego vs. David Holmes - "The Evil Needle" Pacou - "T.4" Continuous Mode - "Direct Drive Mode 1" DisX3 - "The Wide Theatre" DisX3 - "Bored Meat"

And this playlist is also on YouTube Music.

So with the introduction of this playlist, we start out with a total of ten songs that run for 68 minutes. Altogether, a good and eclectic clip of stuff here to get us started that's not very well known.

And next week we'll be staying put in Germany, but we'll be getting into some much chillier stuff! 🥶

Enjoy!

More to come, eventually. Stay tuned!

Like what you hear? Follow me on Spotify and YouTube for more cool playlists and uploads!

[jacketpotatoo]

questions! (a bit late, but still): 1) so you like epic? What's your favorite song (and/or fan animatic) ? And why? 2) do you read fic? If so, what are your fave, like, five fics? (if possible across several different fandoms to minimize the chance I don't know it) Why? 3) you're studying englit? What's your favorite thing about that / your favorite... text? (and how long till you're finished, if you don't mind answering)

thank you and not at all! questions are always welcome

1.Fav song and or fan animatic from Epic

My Goodbye!! oh my god this song. The leitmotifs, the callbacks to Warrior of the Mind, the pure raw emotion in their voices. I love how Odysseus and Athena embody what the other loathes. Odysseus and his heart, Athena and her violence. I love the contrast between mortal and god. I love everything about it. And my favourite animatics in the fandom come from WolfytheWitch who not only perfectly conveys the themes of the songs through their art, but truly enhance them.

2.Do you read fic + your favs

I do read fic! I love fic so much, its the distilled product of the love for a piece of media/its characters and the way authors so thoroughly delve into the minds of the characters they write for, or further the themes of the story, etc is so extremely cool. Also, writing is hard (I try but i'm far too slow and far too much of a perfectionist).

Here are some of my favourites:

- beautiful and vulnerable (and power and success) by koiketto (Arcane; character study focused on Caitlyn's childhood)

- emptiness to music by spookyscaryskeletons (buttons15) (Adventure Time; study on marceline and bubblegum)

-Passerine by Blujamas, thcscus (MCYT au; about kingdoms, mortality, and found family. Disclaimer: i'm no longer in the fandom and I cannot stand dream - he's not the focus of this anyway so its easy to ignore - but this is genuinely written as well as some of my favourite novels. I'd recommend it even if you know nothing of the people because it's an au anyway and no context is needed. there's even a really good audio version on spotify)

-Uneasy Lies the Head by Hiiraeth (V_eritas) (Naruto; post-canon, Kakashi is Hokage and oh shit someone poisoned him and wants him dead. genuinely reads like part of canon.)

- Opera Posthuma by pipstrelle (The Locked Tomb; Palamedes AUs. I picked one of their fics because although I haven't read all of them yet, I've loved every one.)

I also see that you're into Marvel so you should check out my writer friend @jinxquickfoot 's stuff! I don't really go there anymore but they are really awesome and write great words 3. Fav thing about Englit, fav text i've studied, and when will I finish I love stories! I love the passion that goes into making them and I like to reciprocate and understand as much as I can. I love the study of the human condition, of how texts display how the author views society and how this in turn impacts the person reading it. I love the sprinkles of history and politics and sociology and linguistics that I get to explore when I read and study. I love how broad and applicable and fulfilling it is. Those are a lot of favourite things but I believe they're all rather interconnected. My favourite text (in my syllabus at least) might be shakespeare's much ado about nothing because of how utterly amusing it is and how much it surprised me as I read it again and again and watched the play. I didn't like it at first but shakespeare grows on you. I also really enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale because discourse surrounding the patriarchy is *very* cathartic and interesting to discuss in length, and to unravel in essays. Right now, I'm on an Emily Dickinson kick because some of her poems hit me where it hurts

I finish in 2026! I'm only starting my degree in september and I'm currently doing something that's equivalent in rank to a foundation programme, but a lot more intense

[wondersofdreaming]

Keepsake

Characters: Captain Syverson x female reader (3rd person)

Word count: 1.827

Warnings: Death, loss, hopelessness, light cursing, sadness, melancholy, grief, heartache, mourning.

Author’s note: This story was inspired by the song 'Everglow' by Coldplay.

Do me a favour and listen to the song, while reading this, I'll link to the different versions, depending on your mood.

Everglow (original) by Coldplay

Everglow (acoustic) by Coldplay

Everglow (instrumental) by Alexandre Pachabezian

The links are for Spotify, if they don't work try this link for YouTube

I do not own any characters in this short story, except the wife, son and Elijah Reed, who are figments of my imagination.

A massive, MASSIVE, thank you to my beloved angel, @radaofrivia, for giving me the idea from just a few thoughts, for sitting through with me while I wrote this, for giving me advice and for just being there.

Please check out her stories right here: RADA'S MASTERLIST

MY MASTERLIST

Feedback is appreciated.

(Young Syverson, picture credit to @killjoy-assbutt-1112 - find it here)

Oh, they say people come Say people go This particular diamond was extra special And though you might be gone And the world may not know Still I see you, celestial

Lyrics are from Everglow by Coldplay.

The looming grey clouds were moving closer towards him. He could hear the distant sounds of the rumbling thunder. Before long it started to rain and lightning lit up the entire house. The dirt road was flooded in no time, giving the crops the liquid nourishment they needed.

The former army captain was restless. It was on days like these he missed him, more than anything else in the world. He couldn’t sit still and had planned on working on the house, but the coming storm was putting a stop to that. Instead, he sat on the porch swing he built with Elijah when Lucas bought the house.

The Syversons had moved to their farm when Lucas was 4. A few days into the move, their neighbours had stopped by with some casserole, and to welcome them to their community. Mr and Mrs Reed also had a son who was a few months younger than Luc. Elijah had hidden behind his mother’s leg, a little shy, but with some encouragement he greeted Lucas.

“I’m Lucas, but my baby sister can’t say it yet, she keeps babbling Luc, so if it’s easier, you can call me Luc too.”

“I’m Elijah.”

Sy remembered he was trying so hard to pronounce his new friend’s name. He smiled at the memory, the name had been permanent in Lucas’ mind, only using Elijah, when he was mad at him or thinking he was about to do something stupid, which he did often.

“Lija, wanna play?” Lucas asked awkwardly.

“What?” Elijah looked profoundly confused. “I… don’t know.”

“Go on, son. It’s okay,” Mr Reed tried to encourage him.

“Come with me, Lija. I wanna show ya somethin’.”

Lucas had shown Elijah his new toy tractor that his parents had given him for his birthday. The two young boys had played together, and before long were inseparable.

A round yellow object in the palm of his hand. He was fiddling with it. The coin was always in his pocket, so he could keep his best friend close to him at all times. It was an old arcade coin that you could plot into any machine and play one game.

The two best friends had each gotten a dollar’s worth of coins, but the man at the ticket booth had miscounted, so Sy had gotten an extra coin, which the two friends had fought over during their time in the arcade. Lucas being the protector he was, lost to Elijah on purpose, so his friend won the coin.

“I’ll savour it, it’s going to be my lucky coin!” Elijah has announced.

Syverson swung the porch swing with his booted foot. He stared at the coin, wondering why he had been the lucky one. Luc shook his head faintly, his face full of pain and sorrow.

The coin became a thing that decided their fate. When the boys couldn’t agree on something, they would flip the coin. The picture side was heads and the text ‘No cash value’ side was tails. It might have been worth nothing, but it was a priceless item to the two friends.

“Heads: I ask her on a date, tails: you ask her,” Elijah flipped the yellow coin and covered the back of his hand as it landed. The two teenagers looked over at the brunette cheerleader, who was laughing with her friends. Prom was upon them and they both wanted to ask her. Elijah lifted his hand, it was heads.

The dumb coin was always on Elijah’s side. Lucas let out a soft laughter of the memory. Elijah’s face had been priceless, Sy wished he had taken a picture of it. It had been Elijah’s first kiss that night.

When Lucas decided to enlist, Elijah followed him, even with a lot of arguing against it from Sy’s side. He didn’t want his best friend anywhere near a warzone but in the end, he was glad that Lija was there with him through every hardship during training, when they lost people on their team, when they had to carry the dead back to base, it was better to have a friend by your side and share the pain with.

It didn’t take Syverson long to rank up and become captain. He ended up leading a large group of soldiers in a village in Iraq, with Elijah as his lieutenant, he felt like he could conquer the world.

During one of their trips home, Sy had bought a house he wanted to renovate, maybe start a family in. Elijah had spent every moment he could, helping Lucas with the house. It had made them closer as friends, and they had heartfelt talks about their future. Elijah wanted to come home and help his ailing parents with the farm, maybe get into breeding horses, preferably racehorses. Sy hadn’t thought of his future in that sense by then. He just wanted to relax, drink beer and ride his motorcycle.

There was hardly a moment in Lucas’ life where Elijah wasn’t a part of it. Elijah was his best friend, and if he had to be a little girly, they were BFFs. His best friend’s presence had made every moment special, made them better. It was the hardest part, to not have Elijah by his side anymore. He missed Elijah’s silly, huge and sometimes irritating grin, which somehow made the world seem a bit brighter during the dark times. Elijah made his life easier… he just made it better to have a friend to share everything with.

His heart had broken in a million pieces when the building collapsed on top of his best mate.

“Captain, we need a scouting team. I’m taking three soldiers towards those buildings and see if there are enemies up ahead,” Elijah had suggested.

“Lieutenant, I make the orders here. I’m going,” Lucas commanded.

“Heads or tails, Luc,” Elijah picked out the coin from his breast pocket.

“This is no time for such thing, Lija,” the captain grumbled.

“This is the perfect time, Luc. We promised that whenever we couldn’t agree on something, we would use the coin. So, heads or tails, captain Syverson.”

“Heads.”

The coin had landed on the tails side. Lucas had cursed the coin, fuck, shit, crap, dammit!

“It’s my turn to protect you, Luc. I’m not the scrawny little kid anymore, let me show you!”

Elijah had gathered three soldiers and run between two concrete buildings with a big smile on his face. Sy would never forget the smile. It was a grin of pride and determination. And it was the last time Lucas would ever see his best friend.

Moments later a huge explosion shook the ground they were standing on. Sy watched with horror as the buildings collapsed, trapping Elijah and his team. What they didn’t know then was that the impact with the concrete walls had killed him instantly.

The rest of the soldiers watched as their captain went on his knees. Utter despair and anguish plastered on his face, tears about to escape the corners of his eyes. The usual strict army captain, the man with the muscles, the tough guy who could break you with a stare, was breaking down.

“Lija…” he whispered into the dust-filled space, his voice breathless like somebody knocked the air out of his lungs.

At night he had screamed in pain of the loss of his most beloved friend. His days were filled with hopelessness as he prepared to fly home with Elijah’s corpse in a coffin. The nights only brought nightmares, so he started writing a letter to his best friend and thinking of how to tell Elijah’s parents.

“Dear Lija. I can’t believe you’re… Shit, I can’t even write the word. Just a four-letter word, and yet I can’t fucking write it down on a piece of paper. I wish I could have taken your place, man. It should have been me. I hate you for forcing me to pick a side on that stupid coin. I hate you for being so brave. I hate you for wanting to protect me. Fuck you for dying. Fuck you for leaving me. Here. All alone. What about your parents? How am I going to tell them that you’re… how am I going to face them? You are and will always be my best friend. I wish you could go back to your parent’s farm on your own two legs, not in a fucking box. I miss you, Lija. You’re the closest thing to a brother I will ever get. So rest in peace and keep the seat next to you warm, I’ll see you on the other side. - Luc.”

Lucas had sneaked the letter into Elijah’s breast pocket of his uniform before they had shut the coffin. The coin that Elijah had on him, had been put in a plastic bag with the rest of his belongings, prepped to be given to his next of kin, his parents. But Lucas took the yellow token. He needed a memento to remember his best friend by, something that he could keep with him always. A keepsake.

It had taken every ounce of courage for Lucas to step up to the front door of the Reed’s farmhouse. A house he was so familiar with and had so many adventurous sleepovers in Elijah’s space-themed bedroom. He could smell Mrs Reed’s famous peanut brittle, making it harder for him to knock, but he did it anyway. Standing there in his military uniform, he told the two people, who had acted as a second set of parents to him, that their only son had died heroically in battle. Lucas stood frozen, watching them mourn the loss of their son. He was about to step away to give them space, but Mrs Reed grabbed his wrist and brought him into the hug.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect him,” he pleaded, his voice breaking slightly.

“Was he in pain?” Mrs Reed asked, breaking Lucas’ heart all over again.

“No, ma’am. It happened really fast.”

Sy fiddled with the arcade coin. Having zoned out the thunder, not noticing the storm had come and gone. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon. It was a peaceful ending to an emotional day.

A loud wailing came from inside the house. The front door opened and out came his beautiful wife with their young son in her arms. His face was stained in tears. The tiny boy reached towards his father the minute he saw him. In his father’s arms was the only place the boy was happy and content. Sy’s face broke into a happy grin at the sight of his son. His tiny fingers trying to grab the coin in the former captain’s hand.

“This,” Sy showed it to his son, “will be yours when you’re old enough not to eat it.”

He chuckled at the frustrated look on the boy’s face. Sy kissed the top of his son’s head.

“I love you, Elijah.”