#to the point i have a spotify mix just for stuff i discover at work that i want to add to my normal playlists | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

notebookmusical · 11 months ago

Note

Hi! How are you? How was your work party? I hope it went okay and that you're feeling a little better. I know things aren't the best right now but also your last text post made me laugh. Sadly I can relate lol. Sending you love and well wishes! 🩷

I actually don't drink coffee. Soda is my drink of choice for caffeine. But more recently my sister says she needs to drink coffee for energy and makes it for work so sometimes I'll drink a little bit I guess. I'll never really drink a full cup though. I think I prefer iced coffee compared to hot which is what she drinks and I like it to be really sweet. I've had some Starbucks too but that's kinda different and I don't even like it really either.

I listened to some of it and I think she could have potential I guess but I agree it would not be the best fit for her. Something like once could possibly be a good starting point though..I could see that since her voice kinda fits that more. Apparently a movie musical of Kiss of the Spider woman just got announced with JLO as the spider woman. I think that will be pretty interesting actually and how the musical would be on screen. It definitely could be good cuz it reminds me of Chicago and people love that movie.

Yes I would honestly like to know everything and all of her decisions too. I think she made the right choices mostly besides debut being cut. It would be very hard to come up with though and how she envisioned everything so it would be fascinating to see a behind the scenes.

So she got named person of the year by Time and did an interview! I did not expect it at all and was a nice surprise! I loved the pictures and photoshoot and interview. She also said the rep vault songs will be fire..ahh! That's so exciting! Her look in the shoot even had a little bit of rep in it in my opinion and even how she is so proud of herself now which she said in the interview and rose up from the dead against the hate will always be inspiring to me! She also went to Emma Stone's movie premiere and there is a new photo of them! I love their friendship so much and Hayley Williams recently had a quote about her career just getting started too.

So I'm pretty sure I know almost all of those artists and songs already haha. Someone pointed out that replay ot wrapped seems mostly influenced from stuff that came out in the beginning of the year and I guess that makes sense cuz that means it would have more plays. I think it's sort of true for me too. My top artists were Taylor and Paramore. Paramore's album came out in February so that makes sense and I played it a lot. I also played all their old music before their new album came out and I think that's another reason too. Cuz for me, on Spotify, I don't really play old music..I only play new music from the year usually..but sometimes I will go back and play all of an artists albums before listening to their new album. Like for Paramore, I hadn't really listened to their old music in a long time before then. Usually if I just wanna play an old song, I'll just YouTube it instead and I don't really play full albums of stuff I've already heard. That's why some artists I really love didnt make it this year just because they didn't have a new album. This would be different with what I would play in my own time or mood music I would play on YouTube lol and I always replay a lot. I just don't really like to mix old and new and my sister doesn't always like my songs either.I did this with another band too also in February and that's what a lot of my top songs were. But there are two bands I actually discovered this year and cuz I liked them I went back and played their old music before their new album and those were my next two artists. They are called Movements and Slowdive. My two favorite songs are called Daylily and When the Sun Hits even though they were actually from their old albums lol. One has pretty long albums and when you play them five times or whatever..the listening is gonna add up. Plus if my sister also.plays it that much, then its even more. I think almost all of Paramores album made it on my top songs and one was my top song. I highly recommend their album. Sometimes I get into phases with songs and replay them once the song is over so the song will keep coming on more so it plays a lot so it's not always accurate. My top Taylor song was I Can See you at like number 10.

There are so many surprise songs pairings I forgot about but one would definitely be The Lakes and I Wish You Would and Cornelia Street and you're on your own kid. I would die to hear any of those songs omg. She will never play Evermore and the Lakes as a pair because they are both piano songs lol but that's my dream but overall I was pretty happy with what I got. Sorry if I missed anything but I hope you have a nice weekend!

hi friend!! my work party was fine, but very humbling — walking around with my notes app open with a note saying "not ignoring you! just lost my voice" and then playing a lot of charades was very ... entertaining, to say the least! i did get a brownie though (i do not have much of a sweet tooth, so my friend was kind of shocked/confused at my request to go find brownies but it was fun)! hope you're feeling okay 🤍 i think the text post you're talking about is the being sent to the seaside for your health one? my voice is still very much in and out but hopefully it'll be back back soon :(

on the other hand, i have had (1) sip of soda ever — and that was this summer. i am not a soda person! but i will happily drink coffee + tea! i used to be a "iced coffee only unless it's freezing" person, but i've been gravitating towards iced coffee in the summer, hot coffee in the winter! i'm getting old haha. i don't really buy coffee since i have a keurig, but if i'm out i try to go to local shops! there's one near where i used to go to school that i loveeeeee and they have the best fun drinks :")

i need to listen to more musicals! i haven't listened to one in a hot minute (and i've also never listened to spider woman!!). beginning to think that you need to assign me homework so i expand my music tastes! like i really think i need to go through my asks, and make a playlist of songs/albums/musicals recommended by you and then report back every ask 🫡 i did that with one of my friends — i made them a playlist (with my own notes/annotations) of some songs i love, and they've been slowly working on it / listening and writing their own notes back!

i do agree with wrapped/replay being very beginning of the year influenced! when sour came out, it dominated my entire replay but i didn't remember listening to it that much. i think that was a combination of it being such a short album/songs are short + coming out at the beginning of the year.

i am very bad at making playlists (but i love doing it); normally what i'll do is just throw entire artist discographies into a playlist, and then shuffle that while i work! my top taylor song this year was cardigan and i think it was like, 42. i really want to properly get into paramore!! a lot of my friends love paramore, and i know a few of their songs (and what i do know, i love) but for some reason i've never done a full discography listen!

evermore is so good!! i need her to release a surprise songs live album when she's done — i think i just prefer live albums more than studio recordings, actually? i've been listening to a couple lately and i think i just love the energy of live albums more!

my weekend is going well! i hope you're having a good weekend too 🤍 🤍

#post: answered #🩷 anon

0 notes

angryschnauzer · 4 years ago

Text

Waited So Long

Summary: As an actress in her mid 20′s you had been lucky enough to get the roles you pushed yourself for, but one role in particular needs a scene you have no experience with; a sex scene, and you co-star is surprised to discover you are still a virgin even though you are in your mid 20′s. But he’s willing to help with whatever you need.

Trope: Friends to Lovers, Co-stars to Lovers Pairing: Henry Cavill x Female Reader

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, loss of virginity, oral sex, fingering, vaginal sex, protection/condoms.

I no longer operate a tag list, but instead pop over and follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications. You’ll then get an alert each time i post a new story.

Masterlist got so long all the links broke, so you can now find all my previous stories on my AO3 LINK HERE

Waited So Long

Henry sat at the large table, grinning and laughing as the rest of the cast had finished reading through the latest episode’s script. Everyone was in a good mood and that was down to the fact that tomorrow’s shooting schedule required just you and Henry, meaning that everyone else got a three day weekend. But… but you were just staring at the script. You knew it had been coming, but to see the words in front of you, the stage descriptions, it was overwhelming.

The Netflix special was ten episodes of a sci-fi series, and you played an alien warrior. Henry was the plucky human astronaut that had been aboard the International Space Station when it had been sucked into a black hole and had ended up on the far side of the universe. Eight episodes into the filming schedule and the pivotal sex scene was about to be included, and that’s what was clouding every thought in your mind.

You were far from naive, you had no issue with your costume or even the nudity - you were after all painted purple with patches of ‘scales’ in strategic parts - but it was the fact you had a small secret that was making you so nervous; you hadn’t ever actually had sex.

You were already mid 20’s, you’d been through university and stage school, worked on broadway and the London west end, you’d modelled for artists and had always put your career first. Relationships had just fizzled away after the first couple of dates because of your acting schedule… and that is how you found yourself not only a virgin in her mid 20’s, but one that had never even laid in bed with a partner, been close, felt the weight of a lover on top of them… anything at all.

The producers called it a wrap for the read through, and the sounds of chairs scraping on the floor filled the room. As people shot their empty plastic bottles into the trash you felt your stomach lurch, quickly leaving the room, finding the disabled bathroom and running to the toilet, the contents of your stomach very quickly coming back up.

Finally empty, you sat on the floor and rested your head against the wall, your mind spinning. A quiet knock at the door made you open one eye, watching as the unlocked door swung open and a familiar face peered round;

“Are you ok?” Henry asked, his bulk almost filling the entire doorway; “You’re not coming down with something?”

You shook your head;

“No, just umm… nerves… haha…” you laughed rather awkwardly.

Stepping into the room, he sat against the opposite wall, leaning forwards to hand you his half finished bottle of water;

“... about tomorrow?”

Taking a sip of water you nodded;

“Bit pathetic really, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. Is this your first onscreen love scene?”

“Yeah”

He sat forwards, resting his hands on his knees as he thought pensively for a moment;

“Are you going out with the crew tonight?”

“No. Can’t really face it”

“How about I drive us back to the house and order some chinese and talk things through? This isn’t my first love scene but I remember the nerves. We’ll get everything out in the open so the air is clear ready for tomorrow, yeah?”

Nodding, you watched as he stood, holding out his hand for you and helping you to your feet.

The drive back to the shared house that most of the main cast members were staying at was fun, Henry having linked his Spotify to the stereo, firing up a playlist of old school pop with an eclectic mix of metal. By the time he rolled into the large driveway that the rental house had, you were both yelling out the words, laughing and grinning.

Once inside you excused yourselves to go shower, twenty minutes later finding Henry in the kitchen. His hair was wet and he wore a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants as he looked over the chinese menu;

“What do you fancy?” he asked and you tried not to blurt out what you were thinking, because even though you may be a virgin, your thoughts were far from pure.

Looking over the list he had already scribbled down, you pointed to a couple of dishes, watching as he added them to the list before dialling for delivery.

Pushing your plate away you stretched out and groaned. Still shovelling egg fried rice into his mouth, Henry pointed his fork at your plate;

“Roo dun?” he asked, his cheeks full like a hamster.

“Help yourself!”

He eagerly dumped the rest of your lemon chicken on top of his rice, jabbing at the pieces;

“Hey, about tomorrow… you really don’t need to worry. It’s just going to be you and me, and three other people”

Taking a sip of your beer you quietly snorted;

“That’s still three more people that would ‘usually’ be there… and four more than i’ve ever experienced”

He paused, setting his fork down and you could see his mind working through what you said;

“So uhh, it's been a while…?”

“To be honest, it's been never”

It was like something short circuited in his brain;

“Never never? Like, never?”

Putting your beer down, you fiddled with the label;

“I’m a virgin. I’ve never had sex. I’ve never even slept with anyone”

There was an awkward silence, the air tense before Henry finally spoke;

“Is it a religious thing?”

You shook your head;

“No. I just have been so wrapped up in studying or working or being on stage… I would get two dates into a relationship and some big opportunity would come up. I would get blinkered and end up ghosting guys without even realising. Ambition got in the way of a love life…”

Henry took a deep breath;

“Ok. So you know i’ll be covered up… down there i mean… and so will you… so there won’t be any slips or anything. I won’t be inside you or anything…”

Cocking an eyebrow you scoffed;

“Henry… I know you won’t be inside me. We studied sex scenes at stage school. They gave us the practical run down of what happens. It's lots of rubbing and grunting. I just need to go watch some porn again to figure out what to grunt…” you took a sip of your beer; “... and you probably wouldn’t fit inside me anyway… it’s not like anything has ever breached that hole”

Henry sat with a wide eyed look on his face, his jaw hanging slack;

“So you… you’ve never even pleasured yourself?”

“Of course i have!” you threw a prawn cracker at him; “I’ve just never…. You know… had internal stimulation…”

“Wow” he muttered quietly, shifting in his seat; “So…” he started again but then stopped, his brain seemingly unable to string a coherent sentence together.

Finally he cleared his throat;

“So there’s never been any on set stuff?”

“Nope. Usually I run through my lines for the next day, check the schedule, the set and makeup call times. I guess the one bonus about all of this is that there aren’t any lines for tomorrow”

You both knew that the scene had been set up without dialogue, mostly from Netflix’s instruction because any erotic scenes can cause havoc with sensors in some countries when it comes to subtitles.

“What did you want to do now? Do you want an early night? Watch a movie? Talk? You want me to lay on top of you?” he asked, picking his now cold plate of food up and dumping the leftovers in the waste disposal.

“Yes” you replied far too quickly.

“Which part?”

“All of it”

With the TV in the main living area out of action thanks to a rather rambunctious game of ping pong a few weeks ago, the pair of you had moved to Henry’s room. An hour into the movie and it was far from your thoughts, instead you were in the bizarre situation where Henry was literally laying on top of you as you had a conversation. The feeling of his weight pressing against you was at first a surprise, he was thick with muscles for the role, and with probably 200lbs of human pressing you against the mattress you had found you would have to shift now and again. Finally you found a position that was comfortable, and as you chatted about life you found your legs had naturally parted to allow him to lay between them, his stomach pressing to yours, his face inches from your own;

“This is literally how we’ll be spending our day tomorrow you realise” he quietly pointed out

“But there will be grunting too… plus some thrusting… it’ll probably get your ass in the gossip magazines as best ass in hollywood again” you teased him, knowing that the nudity he’d done in previous shows and movies had earned him a lot of attention thanks to his rather peachy behind.

Henry pushed up a little, poking a finger to your breasts;

“Oh yeah? Well these will earn you a whole legion of fans, you have an awesome pair of tits”

“Pfft, they’re just average”

“They’re good enough to give me a semi” he countered with a crooked grin on his face, using his finger to just tug at your neckline, exposing a tiny bit more skin.

You shifted beneath him without even realising you were doing so and that’s when you felt it, a growing hardness pressing against your abdomen. Your eyes went wide as you stared up at him, the mix of emotions showing on his face;

“I’ll get off…”

“No!” you instinctively wrapped your legs around his, leaning your head up and pressed a kiss to his lips. He let out a grunt of surprise and you felt him tense, before he softened, his lips following yours as you pulled rested your head back on the duvet beneath you.

His lips were soft and plump, and as he rocked his hips against you again this time you felt he was getting harder. Instinctively you gasped, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. You may not have had sex before but you had kissed, and your tongue danced with his as hands started to explore each others bodies, fingers seeking out skin as t-shirts were tugged up to expose heated skin.

Pulling your shirt over your head he admired your naked chest, the pattern on your top having hidden the fact you were without a bra;

“Oh yeah, even purple these’ll be popular”

With a smirk on his lips and a wicked grin on his face he lowered his mouth to your naked torso, taking one peaked nipple between his lips to suck on it, his hand cupping your other breast. As he worked his magic your body responded, the wetness between your thighs soaking through your clothing, the subtle movements of your bodies rubbing together making your arousal almost uncontrollable. Winding your hands into his dark locks, the soft hair curled around your fingers as he looked at you, pressing a trail of kisses down your sternum until he reached your leggings;

“Can i continue?” he asked quietly, watching as you nodded your head;

“Yes… please…”

As he pulled your leggings off he pressed kisses to the heated skin that he revealed, never breaking eye contact;

“So here’s what i’m going to do… first i’m going to get you to cum with my tongue, i’ll slip it just a little inside you so you can get used to the feeling, then i’ll gently tease you with my fingers; find that g-spot of yours as i’ve been assured a g-spot orgasm is completely different from a clitoral orgasm…

“Fuck…”

“Yes, that’s the third thing…” he grinned at you; “Once you’re nice and ready, and really really wet i’m going to make love to you… so you can practice your moans for tomorrow…”

He shed you of the rest of your clothing before softly grasping your legs and pulling them apart, revealing your virgin core. Tender fingers parted your petals before his tongue swiped a wide stripe through them, and the sound that emerged from your throat startled even you.

“You like that?”

“Yes… oh my god, please do that again!”

“With pleasure!”

“The pleasure is all mine…”

“Henry?”

“Yes?”

“Please shut up and get on with it” you grinned at him, before he dipped his face back between your legs and went to town. His tongue was seemingly everywhere, grunts and moans as he worked you open, and when he slipped his tongue into the ring of muscle at your entrance your eyes shot open and you giggle-moaned at the unfamiliar but not unpleasant experience. When a finger found your clit you relaxed again, laying back and enjoying the pleasure he was selflessly giving you.

Gripping at the bedcovers you found your hips started to move on their own, only for Henry to press a strong arm across your stomach to hold you in place, pushing you closer and closer to your orgasm. When it finally did hit your body reacted instinctively; your legs wrapping themselves around his head, your back arching and your fingers almost tearing through the fabric of the sheets, before you finally went limp. As your mind was nothing but stars a muffled voice came through the haze of your post orgasmic bliss;

“If i could get some oxygen…”

Not realising your legs were still firmly wrapped around Henry’s head, you quickly released him, his head popping up from beneath your thighs. His cheeks were flushed red and his chin was wet, and it took you a moment to realise you were the cause for the wetness. He wiped his chin with the back of his hand before standing and grabbing a bottle of water to pass to you;

“You’re gonna need to rehydrate after that…”

You went to take the bottle from him but the bulging tent in his sweatpants distracted you, your hand pausing mid air before Henry laughed;

“Drink first, then you can play with it”

“Oh… I… “

“Drink”

Taking the bottle you sipped at the tepid liquid as he lay on the bed beside you. When you’d finished he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you to his firm chest before kissing you softly;

“Are you ready for round two?”

“Can i touch you too?”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he nodded, watching as you eased the elastic of his sweats down and his heavy cock sprang free. Your jaw fell as you took in his size, but before you could overthink it he pressed a kiss to your lips as his hands wandered between your thighs.

Reaching out you wrapped your fingers around him as his own slid between your folds, dancing over your clit before he pressed a single digit inside you, your eyes going wide and your hand squeezing him involuntarily.

“Does that feel good?”

You nodded;

“Yes, a little strange that i’m not in control, but i think that’s what makes it even more exciting”

“That’s good… now, how about another finger?”

Nodding again you bit your lip as he slid a second finger in alongside the first, your eager hole stretching around his digits. Instinctively you had started to move your hand up and down his shaft, doing little more than gentle movements, but soon the pair of you got into a rhythm, working together to leave your breaths in time with the others.

“Doing so well for me… so wet. Shall we try a third?”

Nodding you let out a quiet ‘uh-huh’ as he repositioned his hand, carefully sliding three fingers into your soaked velvet channel, and the noise that came from your throat was base and full of sin. When his thumb started to rub against your clit while he continued to work three fingers inside you the spring in your belly snapped and you were coming hard, shaking around his hand.

As you came down from your high Henry carefully withdrew his fingers, salaciously licking them clean before he got off the bed and went to the drawer in the little cabinet, pulling out a condom.

“Oh… i’m on the pill…” you blurted out; “You don’t have to… In fact i’d really like to feel you, you know… bare…”

Tearing the packet open he grinned at you;

“I get that… but you’re gonna be in makeup in less than 12 hours” he knelt on the bed as he started to roll the latex down his angry dick.

“Umm yeah?”

“Well its something you’d only know from experience, but it can take up to 24 hours for a guys cum to fully leak out of you”

“Oh…”

“And your costume and makeup gets pretty intimate, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

“So you want Iris in makeup to be able to smell my cum dripping out of you when she’s painting your snatch purple tomorrow?” he said with a grin on his face, rolling the condom down fully before positioning himself between your legs

“I gotta be honest, the idea that someone realises i’ve had sex is kinda kinky” you craned your neck up to kiss him as you felt his dick notch at the entrance to your cunt; “But you’re the expert here”

“That i am… Let me show you just how much of an expert…”

With a smooth roll of his hips he pushed into you and the feeling was indescribable, in fact it was so overwhelming you screwed your eyes shut, willing the tears not to fall, but Henry simply held still, kissing each one of your tears as they fell down your cheeks until you were ready.

“Breathe babe… just breathe… it’s overwhelming i know… i understand…”

Opening your eyes you gazed up at him, smiling as he leaned down and kissed you softly.

“Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah…”

“You want me to keep going?”

“Please… oh god please”

“Gonna make you feel so good”

He carefully pulled his hips back before pushing into you again, seemingly getting deeper before pulling out again. Soon you were lost in the moment, feelings both physical and emotionally almost overwhelming you again as your body was taken to new heights of pleasure, Henry seemingly knowing exactly how to make the moment special for you.

Your body reacted in the best way, the tight spring inside you curling ever tighter, until with just the right roll of his hips he tipped you over the edge and you were coming hard, your body squeezing him so tight he knew he’d found heaven whilst you saw stars.

Whilst you were in the haze of your orgasm you heard the most beautiful moans, and felt as Henry came deep within you. As soon as he stopped shaking he wrapped his arms around you tightly, pressing his face to your neck as he cradled the back of your head with his massive hand, pressing soft kisses to your heated skin as you both basked in the aftershocks of your intense orgasms.

Finally Henry pushed himself up to bear his weight on one arm, sliding his other hand between your bodies to hold the condom in place as he carefully pulled out of you;

“I’m just gonna get rid of this… stay here”

You watched his peachy ass as he quickly mad his way to the bathroom, hearing water running before he reappeared moments later with a damp washcloth. Sitting delicately beside you he carefully cleaned you up, and when he was finished he pulled the duvet over your naked body as he quickly got rid of the cloth and joined you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you to his chest;

“Are you ok?”

“I think so… Did i make a mess of your bed?”

“No. No blood”

“Really? I thought…”

“If you’re relaxed enough you may not bleed… or you may have simply ruptured your hymen just through every day life. A fall, tampons, strenuous exercise… didn’t you do a horseriding movie a couple of years back?”

“Y-yeah…” you cast your mind back; “Now you mention it, there was one really long day when i’d spent all day shooting a galloping scene with jumps… i just thought my period was coming early, and i had this really dull ache in my lower back… i guess that makes sense now…”

“So… you’re good? Feel ok about filming tomorrow?”

You nodded;

“Yeah, i’m good. Thank you” You looked up at him and saw he was chewing his lip nervously; “What?”

“I was wondering… you know… after we’ve finished filming tomorrow… did you want to go to dinner with me?”

“Like a date?”

“Yeah… hey i understand if you say no… that you want to concentrate on your role and acting…”

“No! I mean yes!” you took a deep breath; “I’d love to go to dinner with you”

He pressed a kiss to your cheek before you settled on his chest, his strong heartbeat beating beneath your ear as you let your eyelids drop and you fell asleep in his arms.

Iris tutted as you fidgeted;

“Will you stand still? I need to get these scales on!”

“Sorry Iris… just a little sore…”

The older woman looked up at you as she held the patch of purple scales prosthetic and grinned;

“Well its about time” she nodded to the various bottles and jars that were on the counter; “Make sure you take the coconut oil when you leave tonight, it’ll help get the adhesive off without pulling on any bruises”

You looked down at Iris and smiled;

“Thanks Iris”

“Was it worth it?”

“So worth it”

#henry cavill #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill smut #henry cavill fanfiction

965 notes · View notes

crescentfool · 3 years ago

Note

idk if this might be an odd question but what songs would you put in a spotify ryomina-themed playlist? I like to see which songs people associate with them :)

hi there anon!! thank you so much for the ask! 💛💙

honestly, this isn't an odd question at all? i feel the same way when i have a ship that i really like, i love looking for people's song recs and spotify playlists whenever possible!

that said, i usually struggle with assembling song recommendations because i feel weirdly self-conscious about the fact that i don't listen to music? LIKE... i do listen to stuff but it's usually the same songs (usually some mix of game osts, vocaloid, and k-pop). so i end up being like, "OMG NOO WHAT IF THIS DOESNT FIT 10/10," haha.

but in any case, i really appreciate being asked this (it's a great thinking exercise!), so here's a few songs for you, anon!

magnet - hatsune miku and megurine luka | this is the first song that comes to mind! the visual aesthetics are GREAT, and the song is a vocaloid classic about forbidden love. plus, there's two ryomina mmds of this song already! [ 1 , 2 ]

vivi - kenshi yonezu | this song. oh. it gives me december 31st vibes. i feel like the song could be great from ryoji's pov, it captures his role of being the appriser (and his feelings toward minato) really well.. a bit too well, it's almost devastating.

lemon - kenshi yonezu | more ryoji POV songs... literally post december 2nd vibes, if you ask me. very heart-wrenching song; it's how i discovered yonezu's vocal works!

donut hole - gumi | i swear i'll stop with the kenshi yonezu recs BUT! more angsty ryoji vibes, specifically november? it reminds me a bit of his social link- as the song discusses memory loss (while only being able to remember one specific person).

ikanaide - kaai yuki | not sure if i feel 100% with my recommendation here, but some aspects of the song lowkey reminds me of december 31st (specifically, minato's point of view!). i've linked the official version of the song but, i also like the acoustic/english cover by lizz robinett.

seasonal feathers - kagamine rin and len | this song gives me ryomina vibes but in an AU sense, specifically because of these lyrics: "If someday, I were no longer human, would you still love me?” the song has a nice story that was heavily inspired by the japanese folktale the grateful crane.

only us from dear even hansen | this is the one song i'm suggesting that's in english. but. what if. ryomina ditched their december canonverse problems to just live in a world with just themselves. i think about this song a lot and it's Very Good.

and that's my seven songs that remind me of ryomina! thank you again anon for such a nice prompt- i had a lot of fun revisiting some of my fave songs to answer this! if anyone else has any song recs for ryomina specifically, please feel free to share them! whether if it's in my inbox or if you want to drop your spotify playlist in the ryomina tag; i'm sure others would like it too! have a fantastic day anon- thanks for listening to my ted talk! 💛💙

#persona 3 #ryomina #minaryo #lizzy askbox #SONG RECS TIME??? i think yes. i am not really a song person but i tried!#as you can see most of my music experiences/familiarity with songs are all japanese AKDSLHLSDH #i did consider putting some english stuff or maybe a kpop song that coincidentally had similar vibes but #im not that familiar with the music there AKLDSHSD i dont listen to them enough or look up translations #i genuinely would like to know more songs though- i think they're great inspiration for art pieces (or any creative medium)!#some of these i want to do redraws/animatics of. but like. am busy. BUT i like all the songs i listed here #so if the descriptions seem up your alley you should totally check em out :p #ANYWAYS to all the people who keep asking me stuff on tumblr i just wanna say thank you for engaging with me <3 #ily all very much and i would send my good vibes right back at you!! you are all so cool give urself a pat on the back #i know i say some variation of 'ANONS I LOVE YOU' every time in the tags but listen it's True. anw have a nice day!!!

26 notes · View notes

tomwambsmilk · 2 years ago

Note

2 8 33&34 for music asks <33

2. what's your favourite album

This is SO tough... but I think my all-time favourite is probably the soundtrack to the "Heathers" Broadway musical. I discovered it in 2019, and all the songs on it ended up at the top of my Spotify Wrapped list that year. I love showtunes in general but that album in particular is phenomenal; Barret Wilbert Weed has THE most incredible vocal range, and "Dead Girl Walking" just blows me away every time I listen. I also can't get over the potent combination of obsession and rage and borderline insanity in Ryan McCartan's rendition of "Meant to Be Yours", it gives me chills!

I do have to give an honourable mention to "Death of Bachelor" by Panic! at the Disco. I know it's not cool to like P!ATD's more recent stuff, but I honestly think that album is Brendon Urie's best work. It feels incredibly coherent as an album, and there is a sort of narrative - or at least character development - tracking from the first song to the last. I generally don't listen to albums as albums if they aren't musicals, but this is one that I almost always listen to in order and in one shot because it just feels wrong to do otherwise. I can't pick a favourite song because I love all of them equally!

8. tell me about your favourite band

As I answer these I realize how much of my musical taste hovers around musicals, lmao. I don't know that I have a favourite band per se, because my musical taste tends to be all over the map, and often I'll only like a few songs from a single artist. The only two non-musical artists where I've actually listened to a lot of their work deliberately are P!ATD and Set it Off.

BUT if we expand this to my favourite artist I'm going to cheat a little and talk about my favourite actor, Ramin Karimloo. I first came across him as the Phantom in the 25th anniversary performance of Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall, and I became OBSESSED. The raw charisma!!!! The energy!!!!! The amount of emotion he can pack into a line!!! I can't even pick a single moment in the show because every single one is so good. "Music of the Night" gives me goosebumps, though, and also the way he screams in the finale???? DELICIOUS. (At about 10:00-11:00 in this video if you want to know what I mean. I have A Thing for musicals where the lead male singers Just Fucking Scream at a certain point. "Jekyll and Hyde" did this A LOT.) Also the sexual tension in this performance he and Sierra Boggess did at the 2012 BRIT awards just takes me out at the knees. He got a TON of well-deserved critical acclaim for that performance. You used to be able to find the whole show on youtube, but it disappeared a little while ago and I haven't found another free version anywhere.

He also sang the part of Enjolras in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Mis, and is IMO the best Enjolras of all time, no exception. He played Gleb, the general guy, in the Anastasia musical, and even though I have mixed feelings about the musical as a whole his numbers, especially "Still/The Neva Flows (Reprise)" give me chills. One of the greatest nights of my life was getting to go to Toronto with my high school drama class to see him perform LIVE as Jean Valjean in the Mirvish Circuit Les Mis performances. I had a full crush just on his voice when I was in high school <3 And the craziest thing about him is that he has really minimal formal vocal training - his voice just DOES THAT!!! I'm in love with him I truly am

(A couple years ago when of the new guys at my work, who I'm now good friends with, casually mentioned that he knows Ramin Karimloo personally - his brother runs a children's theatre school in Toronto, and Ramin apparently loves to come in and work with the kids and then invite them to his shows. Anyways when he told me that I almost threw up.)

33 + 34. Do you collect CDs and/or vinyls

I don't, but I would if I had a little more disposable income. I'd LOVE to collect vinyl, really well-recorded vinyl has SUCH a gorgeous sound - one of my college roommates had a record player and a bunch of albums and I absolutely loved it. I used to collect CDs when I was in high school, and so I do have several kicking around - a lot of 80s stuff, which is what I was into then, so ABBA, Joan Jett, and the Beastie Boys. I also have a CD recording of "The Nutcracker" by George Balanchine that I love and listen to every Christmas season. Unfortunately I'm currently a hardcore spotify gal, if only because I listen to too much music to buy it all, but I do try to purchase the albums that I really love, especially with smaller artists.

send me some asks about music!

#ask games #realizing as I answer this just how much of my taste is musicals lmao #also I wanted to drop links bc some of these are so good!! but no pressure to watch them or anything

3 notes · View notes

sevensided · 4 years ago

Note

how did you get into writing fic? i'd love to start but idk even where to begin! I loved adats so I was wondering do you have any advice?

Oh my goodness! I am so flattered you’ve asked me this. Yes, I can absolutely help. I’ll throw a bunch of rambling under the cut.

I started writing fic probably when I was... sixteen years old? A lot of my early works were oneshots. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything plot heavy for the life of me, so I just stuck to AUs or whatever I felt like. I wasn’t in any particular fandom -- I really wrote whatever I had ideas for. I remember I tried once to do a plot-heavy story and I received a review absolutely ripping it to shreds. Like, it was so cruel I cried lol. I ended up deleting the fic. Years later, I get what they were trying to say (basically, more substance, less style), but at the time it cut to the quick. Really, it was only when I was in my twenties that I started writing work that was longer and/or better.

The fandom that helped me actually write plot heavy work was a historical-based fandom. As I’m a historian, it was perfect. I got to use my research skills and knowledge to create works that, above all, aimed to feel authentic. I mainly read historical fiction, so I was familiar with how that genre worked. Miraculously, people loved my work. I think I wrote about ~200k in the period of a year? These were several short stories (20-40k) and a few oneshot filler fics. While I was part of this fandom I also helped organise a Big Bang which was a lot of hard work but was extremely rewarding. Along with that, I interacted mainly with other fic writers, so I spent a lot of time chatting to people about ideas and encouraging other writers, and it just created a lovely medley where no concept was impossible or any line of dialogue too difficult. We supported each other and it was truly like a little commune. I gradually stepped away from the fandom mainly because it was just a part of my life at a very specific time, and almost as soon as that time was over, my love for that story/ship faded, but I firmly believe I figured out a lot of how/what I do now purely through that experience.

Regarding ADATS

With ADATS, it stemmed entirely from wanting to “explain” three months in canon (at the end of season three). I was interested in the idea of season four setting up Will/Mike in canon, and I wanted to test the source material to see if I could draw from what already existed to create something authentic. I began with that simple idea: what happened from July to October in 1985? Then I thought about the major themes I wanted to hit -- family, friendship, coming of age, sexuality -- and I nested them around the bigger concept: how do I get Mike from being ostensibly straight to realising he is gay? That meant thinking of two steps: Mike discovering his attraction to guys; Mike discovering his attraction to Will. Those two concepts were separate “arcs” that needed addressing in different ways. Balance was key to weaving them together and making the reader feel like they knew what was coming (and that they felt smart for putting the pieces together) without just rushing through and going “now kiss!” That’s partly why ADATS needs a sequel, lol: because it’s not finished!

Writing process

The first thing I do when I start to get an idea is I write it down. Sounds obvious. But when you have a killer line of dialogue come to you in the shower and you think “I’ll remember that” -- reader, you will not remember it. You gotta get it down ASAP! I do that the whole way through, as generally I’ll be thinking of scenes I’m stuck on and then it’ll just come to me and I’ll quickly jot it down.

The next thing -- or what I do in the meantime -- is start structuring. I plan. I try to plan a lot. Sometimes it’s okay to write “and something happens here to get them here”, because you’ll figure it out later, but for the most part I’ve discovered that planning is like gold and you can’t get enough of it. I break my work up into generally 3-4 parts/sections, and I treat each section like a mini story. So each part needs a conflict and resolution, and it needs to flow into the next section. You need to have a feeling of things evolving and maturing. Once I’ve planned those little bits, I start thinking about the bigger plot arc and how I can drop in hints along the way. I’m probably not a subtle or skilled enough writer to yet pull off that sort of gasping twist you get in really excellent books, but I’m trying to get there. It’s hard, is what I’m trying to say, but that’s okay, because we’re all learning.

Then I generally do aesthetic stuff. Sounds stupid, probably. But nothing helps me get more into a mood than doing a Pinterest board or -- most of all -- making a Spotify mix. I start thinking about the vibe and the general atmosphere, and then I almost exclusively listen to that mix when I’m working. Sort of like muscle memory? Just to get the creative juices associated with that particular selection of songs.

Another thing I’ll do along with plot structure is character structure. This is a biggie. I mean, a story is nothing without characters. So I’ll just jot down a bunch of bullet points of characters and particular aspects that I want to highlight or remember. I hate continuity errors in fiction. Like, if someone says they work on Maple Street but later in the fic they’re working on Pine Street. I hate that. So I keep note of specific things that my main character might notice at repeated points in the story (colours, places, smells, names, sounds -- so they’re all consistent even as the narrative evolves). That’s another thing -- your characters’ motivations. Not everyone is going to be a huge player, but they all do serve a purpose. The most important character is obviously your main character. I personally think it’s important to let your M.C. be an arse at times. They’re going to be mean, they’re going to misinterpret things or fly off the handle... just let ‘em. Let them be wretched humans, and then bring them back and make them realise what they’ve done. Let them learn! I love consequences in fiction, lol.

At the same time, I’ll probably start writing. We’ve already written down some snippets of neat dialogue or descriptions, but now we should start the actual process. For me, I used to start at the beginning. Usually this was the most fleshed out anyway: I’ll have a clear idea of the beginning and the end, but nothing in the middle. These days, if I have a scene in mind that I can’t forget, I’ll just write it. It will possibly get scrapped or rewritten, but that’s okay, because at least you’ve got it down and now you can devote your brain power to something useful (like figuring out what the middle is supposed to be). I’ll have half a dozen of totally out of context scenes just littered in my Word document that I’ll add to as I go along. Eventually, though, you’re going to start writing properly, and that’s when you write your opening scene.

Opening scenes: super important. Every time I write a scene I think: what is the point of this? What do I want the reader to learn or takeaway? Sometimes you do have filler scenes, but they also serve a different purpose (perhaps to establish a group dynamic or to explore/describe a character’s surroundings). Mainly, though, every scene should push something forward in some way, whether it’s character development or a plot point. So, with an opening scene, I always think you have to establish: where you are; who you are; what they are doing; where they’ve come from (in a philosophical and practical sense); and where they’re going (ditto). That doesn’t have to happen in the first paragraph -- that would be silly. But if you sprinkle that information in over time it’ll gradually build up a picture of your character and that way the reader can get an idea of who they are. You basically need to give a snapshot of what your story is about. This also goes back to the character creator stuff: where they are at the start should be different to where they end up. How that happens is, of course, because of plot, and because you’ve structured everything to the nth degree, we’ve got a very clear progression of that character’s growth (/s easier said than done lol).

General advice

Write down everything: every idea, a bit of dialogue, a description, whatever. Write it down. Doesn’t have to be neat. Just has to be on paper. You can’t remember everything, so if you’re spending time trying to hold those things in your head, it’s taking up space for new ideas to come along.

Structure, plan, structure, plan. Sometimes it’s boring and I hate it. Other times, when I’ve not written in a few days and I open the Word doc and think wtf is this supposed to be, I am very grateful for Past Me for leaving such detailed notes. Seriously, it helps so much. Oneshots don’t really need planning, in my experience. You just get those out there. But multi-chaptered stories really do, even ones that “just” focus on a relationship.

Whatever you want to write, commit to it. Space goblins invade Hawkins? Do it. Eleven and Max find themselves in a cult akin to Midsommar (2019) and must escape? Yes. Just... whatever you want to do, remember that you’re writing it for you. Write what most interests you, what makes you when you reread it go AHHHHH I LOVE THIS!! Because that makes it a thousand times easier to actually get on with the writing when you enjoy what you’re doing.

Write a lot. Every day, if you can, or at least at designated times. Occasionally I have a very specific headspace/vibe I have to be in, but sometimes it just hits me and I’ll say to my partner “I need to write now” and just disappear, lol. The more you write the more you write. It’s so, so, so true. Cannot emphasise this enough. When I wrote that ~200k in twelve months? It was because I literally wrote every. day. Or near enough. Remember that some days you’ll write 200 words, and other days you’ll write 20k (this happened to me with ADATS -- part of the reason I finished it so quickly was because I had sprints of writing 10k+ at a time that only happened because I was in the rhythm of it). Write, write, write. Who cares if it’s crap! No one will see it until you are ready. In the meantime, just write!

Probably last of all (although I could go on and on) is connect with other writers. If you’re struggling to start, sometimes just talking about it can help a huge amount. I hope it goes without saying that you can message me whenever you want, anon or not, and I will talk to you. We can talk about ideas or I can beta stuff, whatever you want! Find like-minded people and talk to them about what you want to do. Another thing this helps is in advertising your work when you do publish. I see a lot of first time fic writers get super down because they publish their magnum opus on AO3 but no one comments. Honestly, it’s because no one knows you’ve published! You don’t have to be tooting your own horn every which way, but just actively talking about your work and even collaborating with other content creators with get you hyped and other people too (and the input and encouragement other fandom members give is just... out of this world. Anon messages helped me finish ADATS when I was really worried I wouldn’t [that’s the truth]. Seriously, support is everything). When you have people excited about your work, you get excited. It’s really as simple as that.

I could go on but this is already horrendously long. I hope even a bit of this helps! If you want to chat or have any more questions, just hit me up any time.

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #answered #i really hope this helps/answers your question!#i can do something more structured if you want #otherwise here are just my initial thoughts #Anonymous

61 notes · View notes

thekillerssluts · 4 years ago

Photo

Will Butler explains how his Harvard degree developed into his second solo album

“Yeah, it’s terrifying,” Will Butler says, pondering how it feels to be releasing music away from the umbrella of Arcade Fire.

“It’s the classic thing about all writers,” he continues. “The creative process makes them wanna puke the whole time they’re writing something, then they read something back and it makes them feel worse, then a year later they read it and think ‘yeah, it’s okay’. It’s a glorious experience, but it really makes your stomach hurt.”

On the one hand Will Butler is well accustomed to this writing process, being a multi-instrumentalist in the Canadian indie-rock band fronted by brother Win - Arcade Fire. But on his own terms, it’s an entirely new process. Butler’s second solo album Generations arrives five years after his debut Policy, a collection that rattled with a ramshackle charm and what he describes now as a ‘consciously very unproduced’ sound. Arcade Fire wound down from their Everything Now tour in September 2018, leaving Butler with the last two years of playtime. Most musicians, particularly those accustomed to big album cycles, set aside their downtime for family or other musical projects. Somehow Butler’s managed to do both while also completing a masters degree in Public Policy at Harvard.

“I went to school for a variety of reasons but there was an artistic side to it too,” he says. “I have always tried to let music and lyrics emerge from the world that I’m in; you fertilise the soil and see what grows. It was a way to better understand where we are, how we got here and what's going on. You know, ‘where am I from? What's going to happen?’” Both of these questions explored in his degree are used as fuel for Generations.

It’s easy to imagine an album by somebody who’s just pursued a Public Policy MSt to form in reams of political commentary, probably set to an acoustic guitar. However, Butler instead engages character portraits soundtracked by a broad range of thrilling sonics. Opener “Outta Here” is shrouded by a monstrous bass that lurks beneath the depths of the instrumentation before bursting out midway through. “Got enough things on my plate without you talking about my salvation,” he screams.

While the cage-rattling “Bethlehem” is mania underpinned by a thrashing guitar and bubbling synths that help lift the track to boiling point.While there’s no current world leaders namechecked or any on-the-nose political commentary across the LP, the angst of its contents is instantly tangible, backed by the intellect of somebody who’s spent the past few years studying the ins and outs of government processes. A perfect combination, you could say.

This fuel was partly discovered through Butler reconnecting with the music that defined his teenage years: namely Bjork, The Clash and Eurythmics. While these influences certainly slip into frame across Generations, they were paired with something of an unlikely muse: “I got into this habit of listening to every single song on the Spotify Top 50 every six weeks,” Butler explains. “So many of them are horrible, terrifying and just awful but there’s something inspiring about how god damn avant garde the shittiest pop music is now. Just completely divorced from any sense of reality - it’s just layers upon layers upon layers - it’s amazing. It’s like Marcel Duchamp making a pop hit every single song.”

We turn from current music to current events. Navigating Covid-19 with his wife and three kids in their home of Brooklyn, a majority of 2020 has been caught up in family time for Butler. “The summer’s been easier because everybody’s outside, whereas in spring it was like ‘it’s family time because we have to lock our doors as there's a plague outside.’” While being surrounded by the trappings of lockdown since his second solo album Generations was completed in March, the album itself wriggles with the spirit of live instrumentation, which at this point seems like some sort of relic from a bygone era."I think eventually rediscovering this album back in the live setting would be amazing - we’re a really great live band, it’s a shame to not be in front of people."

The source of this energy can be traced back to the way the songs came together; they were forged and finessed at a series of shows in the early stages of the project. “It just raises the stakes. You can tell how good or how dumb a lyric is when you sing it in front of a hundred people,” he reflects. “It’s like ‘are you embarrassed because what you’re saying is true?’ or ‘is it just embarrassing?’ It’s a good refiner for that stuff. I think eventually rediscovering this album back in the live setting would be amazing - we’re a really great live band, it’s a shame to not be in front of people.”

Like his day job in Arcade Fire, Butler’s solo live group is something of a family affair - both his wife and sister-in-law feature in the band, alongside Broadway's West Side Story star, and the student of the legendary Fela Kuti drummer, Tony Allen. Together this eclectic mix of musicians conjures an infectious spirit through the raw combination of thundering synths and pedal-to-the-metal instrumentation; an apt concoction indeed for lyrics that are attempting to unhatch the bamboozling questions that surround our current times.

The timing for Butler’s decision to study Public Policy couldn’t have been more perfect, with his course starting in the Fall of 2016. “I was at Harvard for the election which was a really bizarre time to be in a government school, but it was great to be in a space for unpacking questions like ‘my god, how did we get here?!’” he reflects, with a note of mockery in the bright voice.

“I had a course taught by a professor named Leah Wright Rigueur. The class was essentially on race in America but with an eye towards policy. The class explored what was going to happen in terms of race under the next president. The second to last week was about Hilary Clinton and the last week was about Donald Trump. We read riot reports - Ferguson in 2015, Baltimore in 2016, the Detroit uprisings in the ‘60s and Chicago in 1919 - it's certainly helping me understand the last 5 years, you know. Just to be in that context was very lucky.”

As we’ve seen with statues being toppled, privileges being checked and lyrics of national anthems being interrogated in recent months, history is a complex, labyrinthine subject to navigate requiring both ruthless self-scrutiny and a commitment to the long-haul in order to correct things. The concept of Generations shoots from the same hip employing character portraits to engage in the broader picture.

The writing, at times, is beamed from a place of disconnect (“had enough of bad news / had enough of your generation”), from a place of conscious disengagement (“I’m not talking because I don’t feel like lying / if you stay silent you can walk on in silence”) and from a place of honest self-assessment (“I was born rich / three quarters protestant / connections at Harvard and a wonderful work ethic”).

“I’m rooted in history to a fault,” he says. “My great grandfather was the last son of a Mormon pioneer who’d gone West after being kicked out of America by mob violence. He wanted to be a musician which was crazy - he got 6 months in a conservatory in Chicago before his first child was born. He always felt like he could have been a genius, he could of been writing operas but he was teaching music in like tiny western towns and he had all these kids and he made them be a family band and they were driving around the American west before there were roads in the deserts - literally just driving through the desert! He would go to these small towns and get arrested for trying to skip bills and just live this wild existence.”

Butler’s grandma, meanwhile, was just a child at this point. She went on to become a jazz singer with her sisters and married the guitar player Alvino Rey. “The fact that me and my brother are musicians is no coincidence,” he smiles. “It’s not like I decided to be a musician, it’s down to decisions that were made at the end of the 19th century that have very clearly impacted where I am today. The musical side of it is very beautiful, it is super uncomplicated and a total joy to have a tradition of music in our family...but also in the American context - which is the only context I know - it's also these very thorny inheritances from the 19th century and beyond that influence why my life is like it is.

“For me it’s like, ‘I made my money because my grandpa was a small business owner’ or ‘my grandpa was a boat builder and got a pretty good contract in WW2 and was able to send his kids to college’. Both of which are so unpoetic and unromantic but it is an important thing to talk about, that's a personal political thing to talk about; there's horrifying and beautiful aspects there.”

The lament of “I’m gonna die in a hospital surrounded by strangers who keep saying they’re my kids” on “Not Gonna Die” could well be croaked by somebody on the tail end of a life lived on the American Dream. At times, Butler plays the characters off against each other, like on “Surrender,” which chronicles two flawed characters going back and forth played by Butler’s lead vocals and his female backing singers that undermine his memory; “I remember we were walking” is cut up with the shrug of “I dunno” and “maybe so”. “I found having the backing voices there gave me something to play with,” he explains. “Either something threatening to the main character or something affirming to the main character, just providing another point of view.”

Elsewhere, “I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know” explores the feeling of being unsuitably equipped to unravel the complexities that surrounds us day-to-day. “The basic emotion of that song is very much ‘I don’t know what I can do’ which is an emotion we all have,” he ponders. “There’s also the notion that follows that, like ‘maybe don’t even tell me what to do because it’s going to be too overwhelming to even do anything’.”

Some of these portraits materialised in the aftershows Butler began hosting while on Arcade Fire’s Everything Now tour which found him instigating conversations and talks by local councilman, politicians and activists on local issues. “On some of the good nights of the aftershow town halls, you’d feel that switch away from despair and into action,” he says smiling. “The step between despair and action is possible, that sentiment isn’t spelled out lyrically on the record but it’s definitely there spiritually.”

“I learned anew what a treasure it is to have people in a room. Getting humans in a room can be absurd. And we were having from 5,000 to 15,000 people in a room every night, most of them local. I’m very comfortable with art for art’s sake; I think art is super important and it’s great people can like music that's not political. It was sort of like ‘well we’re here and I know a lot of you are thinking about the world and you’re thinking about what a shit show everything is. You want to know what we can do and I also want to know what we can do!’ So I put on these after shows.”"The dream lineup would be to have a local activist and a local politician talking about a local issue because that’s the easiest way to make concrete change."

Butler would find a suitable location near the Arcade Fire gig through venue owners who were often connected to the local music and comedy scenes to host these events. “The dream lineup would be to have a local activist and a local politician talking about a local issue because that’s the easiest way to make concrete change. Arguably, the most important way is through the city council and state government. The New York state government is in Albany, New York. The shit that happens in Albany is all super important so I wanted to highlight that and equip people with some concrete levers to pull.

“In Tampa we had people who were organizing against felon disenfranchisement, like if you’ve been convicted of a felon you couldn’t vote in Florida, and something absurd like 22% of black men in Florida couldn’t vote and there were people organising to change that - this was in 2018 - and you could just see people being like ‘holy shit, I didn't even know this was happening!’

“These were not topics I’m an expert in - it’s like these are things that are happening. The thought was trying to engage, I’m sad to not be doing something similar this Fall, I mean what a time it would have been to go around America.”

Understandably the looming 2020 election is on Butler’s radar. “It doesn't feel good,” he sighs. “I’ve never had any ability to predict, like 2 weeks from now the world could be completely different from what it is today. There was always a one-in-a-billion chance of the apocalypse and now it's like a one-in-a-million chance which is a thousand times more likely but also unlikely. It’s going to be a real slog in the next couple of years on a policy side, like getting to a place where people don’t die for stupid reasons, I’m not even talking about the coronavirus necessarily just like policy in general. Who knows, it could be great but it seems like it's going to be a slog.”

There’s a moment on the closing track “Fine”, a stream-of-consciousness, Randy Newman-style saloon waltz, where Butler hits the nail on the head. “George [Washington], he turned to camera 3, he looked right at me and said...I know that freedom falters when it’s built with human hands”. It’s one of the many lyrical gems that surface throughout the record but one that chimes with an undeniable truth. It’s the same eloquence that breaks through as he touches on the broad ranging subjects in our conversation, always with a bright cadence despite the gloom that hangs over some of the topics.

The live show is without a doubt Arcade Fire’s bread and butter. While Butler questions how realistic the notion of getting people in packed rooms in the near future is, he reveals the group are making movements on LP6. “Arcade Fire is constantly thinking about things and demoing, it's hard to work across the internet but at some point we’ll get together. It probably won’t be much longer than our usual album cycle,” he says.

You only have to pick out one random Arcade Fire performance on YouTube to see Butler’s innate passion bursting out, whether it’s early performances that found him and Richard Reed Parry adorning motorbike helmets annihilating each other with drumsticks to the 1-2-3 beat of “Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)” or the roaring “woah-ohs” that ascend in the anthem of “Wake Up” every night on tour. It’s an energy that burns bright throughout our conversation and across Generations.

https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/arcade-fires-will-butler-new-solo-record-generations

#Arcade Fire #generations #will butler #interview #hq

43 notes · View notes

binniesthighs · 4 years ago

Note

miss ro!!! ur jeongin fic was so cute that letter with all the misspellings made me cackle low-key - really can imagine 바보 빵 (fool bread(?) not sure how they render that nickname in english for him) writing it 😭 him and mc were so cute no lie

so like i swear dpr ian used to have a soundcloud that i would listen to but for some reason i can’t track down the stuff anymore ?? but equally maybe i’m getting confused bc i listen to a lot of k-artists on soundcloud (i remember the day i discovered got7 jb’s music on there and completely lost my shit lmao but that’s a diff story) i’m honestly such a sucker for soundcloud artists why am i like this 💀💀 but he literally dropped off the grid apart from his insta after his idol group disbanded and his spotify is basically empty apart from zombie pop (which is p cute it’s in the dpr archives album) and his new album. i honestly love all the tracks on it bc have been listening to the singles since they dropped but nerves and scaredy cat are my faves i think of the new ones?? i low-key suck at song recs lmao bc usually I just queue the entire album start to finish / listen to ppl’s curated spotify playlists for like kr&b/indie&chill etc while i’m doing work so i usually hear stuff i like but don’t know the titles ?? last year i was heavy obsessed with dpr live’s album tho “is anybody out there” and also ph-1’s 2019 album “halo” is still one of my faves. i can try and dig through and find specific songs i saved tho if u want!

also i’m watching the making of the album documentary now and it’s honestly spectacular (and only 13mins it needs to be longer 😭😭😭) - he goes into the back story of each song and talks about his life too and there’s clips of him filming the MVs and laying down the tracks. it’s low-key getting me v emotional especially when he was talking about dope lovers and how he had some p bad relationships bc he tends to push ppl away when he’s going thru stuff and he was recording the lyric “it was all for a kiss” and then he said “was it for a kiss or was it from a kiss because honestly, i think a lot of shit happens after the kiss” and ooft that hurttttt

british insults are honestly the best - i love them bc they’re like super snarky/get to the point but they’re not actually like properly derogatory names? like i rly get uncomfy when ppl properly swear at someone even if I like hate them with a burning passion lmaoooo

omg snow day??? we haven’t had snow for a while now :(( my friend lives in mass tho and she said it was snowing yesterday too i’m jel :(( i thrive in the night too lmao but man my insomnia’s been kicking my ass lately 🥲🥲 i deadass live my life like chan and i rly thought this would stop after uni but i guess it’s just my state of being 😭😭

i love reading ur replies they rly brighten my day 🥺🥺 i get a bit in my head sometimes lmao gotta love that anxiety/depression mix 🤪🤪 and rly worry i’m being annoying/ saying too much / blocking up ur feed for other readers also 🥲🥲 i hope other ppl aren’t getting annoyed by how long my asks are 🥺🥺 mayb one day i’ll reveal myself n we can just msg instead or sth idk 😭😭

n e ways i’m gonna dip now but i hope you have a good day/night/week too, miss ro!! my life is spiralling low-key so might be gone for a bit but in the meantime i hope things go well for u!! and do lemme know what u think of MITO !! (and honestly check out the making doc if u have time!!) -😖

😖 awe heck, my responses make your day? 🥺 that makes me so so happy!! i know how ya feel, I tend to have hot and cold weeks, and my writing is what tends to keep it at bay :) as well as talking to all you cuties! You don’t annoy me at all sweets!! however ya feel like talking is fine with me!! ;) also don’t ya worry about dipping either! life gets crazy and I totally get ya! <3

more under the cut!

also thank you so much about my new jeongin fic!! writing his lil letter was my favorite part actually hahahah i was trying to channel my inner awkward teen boy for that one LOLLL to suit his character being super sweet and loveable and a lil shy on the side I knew that he would make some cute lil mistakes hehe

I’ll def listen to your recs!! I really need to listen to more kr&b tho! I have like two or three playlists that i listen to allll the time and am in dire need of new music haha the other week I discovered Kali Uchis’ new album and that’s been on repeat for me like crazyyyy recently FRICK its so good haha so that is my recommendation hehe

That sounds like a really interesting documentary tho!! I actually really like music documentaries! hahah I watch them with my dad sometimes about classic rock artists etc. it super cool to me to hear about everything that goes into an album as well as the creative process behind it too! like when skz do their little interviews and stuff before an album releases I lovvve that haha for the same reason I love hearing about why authors write what they did too! gahhh i’m ramblin but the creative process is so cool to me! I’d love to check it out!

whats funny abt swearing is that (oddly) even at nearly 21 years of age I am still not allowed to swear around my parents hahaha but when I’m not around them??? i will say anything and everything lolll but never at people like ya said haha i remeber a while ago I heard “bucket of fucks” and I thought that was pretty funny haha, also yay for snow days!! its funny bc I’m currently not in the state where I go to school so the weather was just fine here but there was like two feet of snow on the actual campus haha i heard that the students got together to have a snowball fight on our soccer fields (i just hope they were safe ooP)

#binniesthighs 💌#😖anon #binniesthighs feedback

5 notes · View notes

theyilinglaozus · 4 years ago

Note

I'm definitely joining you in the XXC/SL bubble haha. The cultivator event was so much fun!! I'm really going to miss it as well! And I've yet to listen to Blackpink's album, been putting this off for too long😂 Vinyls are so great!! My dad has a vinyl player and lots of old (80s/90s) vinyls and to me, listening to them is just comfort, comfort, comfort! I've actually given him some of my favourite albums on vinyl, too, but mostly I listen to his W.A.S.P./Warlock/Steeler/Accept etc. stuff -✨

Even though my top Spotify band of 2020 was one of my oldest favourites, I've discovered so much new stuff this year! My favourite releases (albums) would have to be HUMAN:||:NATURE by Nightwish, Folkesange by Myrkur and folklore by Taylor Swift. As for songs, I really loved Endlessness by Nightwish, Abyss of Time - Countdown to Singularity by Epica, exile by Taylor Swift, God's Menu by Stray Kids and Zombie by Day6. There are lots more of course, but those are the top ones! -✨

As for books, I actually only just got a little spark for reading back, too, I really didn't read a lot this year unfortunately. My top 3 books I read were The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (compulsory school lecture) and The Child's First Life by Jun Cai, which I actually haven't even finished but oh well. I aspire to read a lot more (and MDZS) next year, though! -✨

Now that the year is almost over, I'd like to ask you to list the good things that happened! It's been quite the tough year but still (or maybe especially because of that) it makes me very happy to find out more about the good things that happened to others! -✨

There’s just something so cosy about listening to music playing on a record player, isn’t there? 🥰 My Mum’s always been a huge music lover, so she has a rather large collection of vinyl’s she brought when she was younger. She likes to listen to some of the vinyl’s I have too, especially since it means she’s found a few new singers she likes like Florence Welch and Lana Del Rey. My Dad mostly likes listening to movie soundtracks he has through them, which is always super nice! 💕

Reading this year has just felt so difficult to do, hasn’t it? 😫 Here’s hoping 2021 will be better for kicking us out of our reading slumps! I have the Night Circus in my too read pile as well, so I must get to that at some point! I also have the authors newer book too, The Starless Sea. I’m a little anxious to start it though since I’m not sure if I’ll like it or not since reviews for it seemed a little mixed, but I’ll never know if I don’t try it 😊

Oh gosh, that’s a really good question CC! Lemme see ...

After a tough 2019, sticking to my 2020 promise to myself and trying to focus more on my own happiness rather than constantly pleasing others helped a lot with my mental health. It wasn’t easy, but it was necessary to do and even though this year has been tough and isolating in general for everyone I’ve felt a lot better in myself knowing I’m not going to let certain things bother me anymore.

In a weird way, I feel like I’ve connected more with some of my friends this year despite seeing so little of them? Whether that’s down to reaching out and communicating through other ways or not, it’s been really nice! 😊 I kinda feel that things like all the lockdowns have also had this weird way of strengthening some connections just through how creative we’ve all had to get with keeping in touch with our friends and loved ones, and although I miss the friends and family I can’t see like I usually do, at least we’ve kept in contact!

This one’s going to sound a bit mushy - but finding a real comfort in a fandom circle again. I’ve been on tumblr for a little over ten years now, and I’ve never really felt like I’ve been a part of a fandom, despite having been involved in a number of other fandoms. The Untamed / MDZS fandom has honestly and truly been the loveliest, most inviting fandom, and I absolutely love how connected it feels. Being a part of it has given me the confidence to take part in fandom events and wanting to return to making graphics properly for the first time in years, and I now find it really relaxing to return to. The community built here is honestly so lovely, and I’m so glad I get to be a part of it 💖

Finding the Untamed, and it reigniting so many of my old loves. A love of creating content, a pull out of a long writing slump, a return to loving dramas after so long. It’s a story I know I’m going to be thankful for for a long time, because it’s just brought me so much happiness in a year that’s just been difficult for everyone. It’s given me the drive once again to explore and learn more about Chinese traditions and cultures, so much so that it sparked me buying other novels that I’m eager to enjoy.

Some of the video games I’ve played have honestly been little pockets of happiness throughout the year. I got to fall in love with Final Fantasy VII all over again through remake, which is honestly such a dream in and of itself as I never thought we’d see such a stunning game get to shine with a remake. Animal Crossing has been a godsend, and I’m so thankful for it being there as both a relaxing escape and a way to keep in contact and connect with others. I have friends at work that play it now, and it’s brought us so much closer! Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Jedi: Fallen Order reminded me why I love single player games as much as I do, and despite the disappointments of some titles I was looking forward to, I’m really happy I got to find new (and old!) favourites through what I got to play this year.

Seeing a childhood favourite character return into the Star Wars universe. Again, it sounds sappy, but it can mean a lot to see a character you’ve grown up with and loved so much finally come back in a way that revives that little child in you for a few moments 🥺

And finally, all the lovely new friends I’ve had the pleasure to make this year. The lovely people I’ve been able to speak to through this little fandom, the older friends from before Tumblr days that I’ve been able to speak with more due to our timezones finally matching somewhat in these crazy times.

Thank you, CC, for being such a bright spark throughout my December ☀️ It has honestly been such a joy speaking and getting to know you throughout this month. You’ve asked such incredibly interesting questions, really made me think about things in MDZS in a way I haven’t before and might not have done so otherwise, and you’ve made me laugh and smile along the way. If you’d like to keep in contact after reveal still, I’d be more than happy to! 💖 I wish you a very happy New Year, and I hope 2021 treats you and your loved ones well!

#replies #anonymous #classified cultivator ✨#mdzsnetcc

5 notes · View notes

jessisvibing · 4 years ago

Note

for the obscure asks: ALL OF THEM!

Oh gosh okay

1. Fave way to dress

Glam. Like Steve summers, Sami yaffa, and mark slaughter all had a child

2. If I could change anything about myself

Probably either my stomach or my face but perhaps i would just like a new self esteem

3. What movie/game/etc helps me calm down

Rock n roll high school

4. What does your room smell like?

Depends if I wanna use the hot chocolate candle, the marshmallow whatever it is candle or the one that reminds me of Disney.

5. Do you like to organize?

Oh heck I have to be organized or it bothers me.

6. What kind of music would you listen to if you could only choose one?

If we mean genre then perhaps 2000s Finnish rock. Or maybe 80s glam. But if we’re going for bands Poison and Pretty Boy Floyd never get old.

7. What song is your aesthetic?

MOONCHILD!!!

The song, the video, ALL OF IT!

8. What color do you think goes best with your personality?

Although my favorite color is green I’m usually associated with black or red.

I’ve been told if I was a color I was without a doubt the color black

9. Do you believe in auras?

Perhaps so.

10. What do you wish you hated but actually like?

Apulanta 😂

Well not really but it’s hard to explain them to people. I could probably name a few things but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head.

11. Vague about your crushes.

Well, he’s got the most beautiful eyes and voice and the warmest smile. I think he lives in France with his girlfriend so he’ll never like me but something about him just gives me a warm feeling. He has a message with his music and I just wish I could be like him. Is that too much to be vague?

This ones definitely been through a lot but I feel like I need to try and make a difference in his life. Frankie knows who he is cause I’ve told her this before but ever since I first discovered him I fell in love with him and most people don’t support that I like him but that’s okay. He’s funny to me and his music is comforting to me.

12. Is there someone you have mixed feelings towards?

It’s hard to pinpoint my emotions. Especially when I first meet people. Sometimes I just don’t know how I feel about one of my friends that I dated once. Do I love him or not? I’d like to know.

13. An Au or story I came up with.

I have a lot of crack stories about poison and Jekyll and Hyde I’ve yet to write. All I gotta say is cc’s insults give me life.

14. Do you like makeup?

I liked it better on me when my hair was long now I just don’t vibe with it but concealer has saved my life a few times. It’s just better on guys.

15. Do you prefer space or ocean?

Y’know it may come as a surprise but I’ve always kinda wanted to visit space. I absolutely love the stars and I’m kinda a space geek.

16. If I could pick any planet besides earth, where would I live?

I wanna say Uranus as a joke but on a serious note I think Venus or Mars would be neat.

17. What form of government do you like most?

Monarchy. It’s just easier than this american shit.

18. What animal would I keep as a pet?

Omg omg I always wanted a snow ermine🥰

19. What do you think the purpose of our universe is?

Well I’m a Christian so I could go deep into it but I’ll just leave it at that.

20. Do you believe in god(s)?

Yes if my last answer wasn’t obvious enough.

21. Is there a song you can’t handle listening to even tho I like it.

It was hard enough to get into this song but when I discovered why mark wrote it it’s hard not to cry when I hear it.

22. What ex do you miss most?

Well I wouldn’t quite say I miss any of them. I’m still best friends with my most recent. I feel like I haven’t found a great relationship yet. Sorry val babe.

23. Do you like soft fluffy rough or smooth blankets.

I have a fluffy one hanging on my bed frame haha.

24. What is your fave thing to learn about?

Hmm I love a lot of stuff, as much as finnish fascinates me I absolutely adore mythology.

25. What country’s history do you find most interesting?

I’ve been in too many American history classes to enjoy it anymore. The Finnish history is very neat to me.

26. What do you think about genderbent characters?

Heck I used to love them but now I’m neutral

Perhaps depends on the character.

27. What breakup was the hardest.

Oh none hit me very hard but my last boyfriend took it the worst I’d bet.

28. Do you have someone where you can’t decide if you like them romantically or just as a friend?

Still with Val. I just don’t know how to feel.

29. What do you think about tumblr discourse?

Ugh I came here to get away from it but as long as it’s sporadical and not constant I can put up with it.

30. What instrument do you wish you could master?

I’d just like to pursue bass decently rn, we’ll talk about that later.

One day I’ll drum hot for teacher. I just needa buy a better drum set. I guess just being able to play both instruments decently would be a blessing.

31. How easy is it for you to be honest?

As easy as it is to lie.

I’m very honest and trustworthy but I could also be the exact opposite.

32. Do you have any strange interests?

Oh god okay so while y’all are over here obsessing over guys hands I can’t help but look at their stomach like omg I just wanna lay on it while my man tells me how much he loves me.

It’s not weird but I love Finnish accents. Just less common to hear someone say that rather than English.

Well I could go on and list a lot of stuff but then again

33. Do you have any strange fears?

Peter steele 🤣

Obviously a joke but anyways

34. What food do you binge when you’re lazy?

Fries usually but I could eat pasta or fish sticks or rice galore.

35. When you get angry how do you show it?

Usually through cursing a lot but when I’ve got the hots for someone I curse a lot too. I speak more violently when I’m mad though I probably won’t act as violent as I sound. Don’t be afraid.

However as much as I say it I will gladly break your nose and you’d better believe it so it better not come to that point.

36. Do you have any impulsive movements?

Eh idunno but when I get bored I’ll put my index finger on my nose (up to about my eye. So if my hand is on my nose you better spice up the topic.) oh I also play with my hair when I get bored.

And if I get anxious it’ll be obvious. I’ve also been told when I get scared I have a death grip so if you try and work up my nerves just expect your hand to be broken 😝

37. What do you listen to music on?

That depends. If I want 80s music I’ll go to amazon, if it’s not on Amazon or I want something specific from Spotify then I go to YouTube. If I don’t know what I want or I want Finnish music I’ll go to Spotify.

38. Are you left brained or right brained?

I don’t think I have a brain. As much as my mom wants to tell me I’m left I seem to be more right brained.

39. Earbuds or headphones?

Ugh earbuds. I don’t like headphones unless I’m using my Walkman. Headphones are so 2010s/elementary school 😂

40. Do you like light blankets or heavy?

Meh light. I just don’t get the thing about heavy blankets. Plus they’re frustrating to get settled in.

Yay that was super fun! Thank you!!

#I enjoyed how time consuming that was.

2 notes · View notes

legendarybearstrawberry-blog · 4 years ago

Text

HP ELITE DRAGONFLY (2020)

A year ago's HP Elite Dragonfly was maybe the most pleasant business PC we've at any point tried. The current year's Elite Dragonfly is practically indistinguishable from that machine, which is fine in light of the fact that, once more, the HP Elite Dragonfly was remarkable in pretty much every manner.

This new arrangement to a great extent feels and looks equivalent to a year ago's model; it's as yet one of the sleekest, chicest business workstations available, and it has the most attractive plan of any convertible that HP right now sells.

HP has changed four things. To begin with, the Dragonfly is currently 5G-empowered, however that component isn't coming until mid-2020. Second, it has a coordinated Tile tracker, which is coming to models in mid-May. Third, it has another protection situated screen that incorporates HP's most recent Sure View Reflect innovation. Fourth, its mechanical parts are presently for the most part worked from reused materials.

The new Dragonfly is slender, light, delightful, and pretty much impeccable. You can get the base arrangement for around $1,500, yet the model we're taking a gander at costs $2,179, which is a serious sticker price. (This particular model doesn't appear to be accessible on HP's site yet, yet arrangements with comparative specs, including Tile, an i7, vPro, and the Sure View Reflect screen are in the $2,100 to $2,700 territory, contingent upon RAM, stockpiling, and different highlights.) The new highlights work, however they're extravagances, not necessities, for by far most of individuals. In case you're a C-Suite power client who's consistently in a hurry, they may be a commendable spending cost for you. In any case, you'll likely be okay with a less expensive EliteBook except if cash is actually no item for you or your organization.

HP has been staging in reused materials into the Elite Dragonfly ridiculous year. It's the first ultrabook to fuse sea bound plastics (that is, plastic litter gathered in sea territories, which would somehow have wound up in the sea). The organization said a year ago's model would consolidate 50% PCR plastics (and 5 percent sea bound plastics) in its speaker box and 35 percent PCR plastics in its bezels.

The organization's objectives, from that point forward, have gotten more yearning. It reported at CES 2020 that more than 80% of the Dragonfly's mechanical parts and 90 percent of the magnesium suspension are currently made of reused materials. This activity isn't explicit to Dragonfly; HP says that other new HP Elite and HP Pro PCs will fuse the new composite segments.

The new material hasn't ruined the undercarriage in any capacity. I can't recollect the last time I held a PC this light that felt this durable. (HP didn't react to different requests about the specific weight and measurements of this unit, however it's around 2.5 pounds.)

There's no flex in the console and practically none in the showcase. The suspension additionally feels extremely pleasant to the touch; the magnesium is smooth, and the adjusted edges and corners mean you never get jabbed. Fingerprints are frequently a concern on dull items, however the wrist rests and console remained sans print following a few days of utilization. The touchpad and top amassed a few, however I could just see them under splendid light.

HP has likewise traded out the plastic covers on the console (the material is presently 50% sourced from reused DVDs) and the screen's bezels (presently 35% reused plastic). The keycaps are a piece plasticy yet at the same time feel extraordinary, and the bezels don't appear to be any unique from those on the old model.

The new Dragonfly closely resembles an exceptionally decent PC. Also, hello, presently it's more practical.

The second enormous change is the new screen, which utilizes HP's Sure View Reflect to expand client security. Reflect is the fourth era of SureView, which the organization dispatched with its EliteBook 1050 G3 in 2016. You can in any case get the Dragonfly arranged with more seasoned boards, including the low-power 1W presentation we tried a year ago, a showcase with SureView Gen3, and a HDR 400 showcase with 3840 x 2160 goal. This is only an extra choice.

TheThe Dragonfly has two screen modes, which you can helpfully flip between by squeezing F2. There's Sharing Mode, which conveys up to 773 nits of brilliance and wide review points, and Privacy Mode, which colors the screen with the end goal that individuals passing by can't sneak around.

With Privacy Mode on at 50% splendor, I was unable to see a thing on the screen while sitting opposite to it. I started to make out certain substance at the edge of the showcase at a 45-degree point, yet I didn't get a decent look until I was nearly dealing with it directly. In case you're utilizing Privacy Mode in broad daylight, dubious figures will experience difficulty spying except if they're discernibly peering near. Somebody sitting close to you on a transport or train may make out bits, however they will not draw near to the full picture.

Note, however, that the screen gets dimmer in Privacy Mode. It additionally kicks back significantly more glare, particularly underneath most extreme brilliance. Indeed, even with the screen at max, the glare was generous enough that the gadget wasn't usable outside — and even inside, I wouldn't have needed to utilize it under 50% brilliance. It's so natural to flip back to Sharing Mode, however, that I'm not very animated about that compromise.

Fingerprints do stay on this board (it's a touchscreen) and were difficult when I attempted to clear them off. It was somewhat irritating, however such force clients considering this setup may like to utilize HP's Active Pen, which ships with this unit.

With regards to extravagant screen includes, the inquiry is consistently whether they'll affect battery life. To my alleviation, not exclusively is the new Dragonfly's battery life amazing, however it's quite better than that of the late-2019 model. I took the ultrabook (on the default Better Battery power profile and 50 percent brilliance) through my typical workday of shuffling eight to 12 Chrome tabs, running Slack, web based Spotify and YouTube, and a periodic Zoom call, parting time about similarly between Sharing Mode and Privacy mode. I got 11 hours and 38 minutes, which is the best battery life result I've at any point gotten from a PC. In the event that you need an item that can dependably chip away at the go, you'll experience difficulty discovering better compared to the Dragonfly.

The Dragonfly's really pivotal (yet less business-arranged) new component is the Tile mix. Tile, for those new, makes little Bluetooth-empowered gadgets that you can join to your keys, tote, wallet, or different assets. On the off chance that you lose the Tile-associated object, you can find it utilizing the Tile application on your telephone. This is the main PC with a Tile tracker worked in, which can help you discover the Dragonfly if it's lost or taken.

What's shrewd about the Tile is that it's fueled by its own equipment separate from that of the Dragonfly. That implies it can sound an alert through its own coordinated speaker in any event, when the PC is off. The tracker draws a modest quantity of force from the PC, however, HP didn't react to our requests about the points of interest of the relationship. In the event that the Dragonfly is off when you lose it, HP says the Tile will continue to work for 20 days. On the off chance that the PC's in hibernation, you actually have 2.5 days.

Setting up the Tile is an extremely straightforward interaction. I needed to actuate the gadget through the Tile Microsoft application (it comes preloaded onto the Dragonfly) and make a record with the help. (The Tile plays a great jingle while you're setting it up.) Once I downloaded the Tile application on my telephone and signed in, I was set.

At the point when you open the Tile versatile application, you'll see a rundown of any Tile items you've associated, including the Dragonfly. In the event that you select the PC and press "Discover," its tracker will sound a boisterous caution. (iPhone clients can likewise do this with a Siri alternate way.) You can likewise see its keep going known area on a guide. In the event that you lose the journal outside of Bluetooth range, you can assign it as "lost" and initiate Tile's Community Find highlight, which will send you a caution with its area at whatever point another Tile passes inside its Bluetooth range. On the off chance that you register for Tile Premium, you can get more highlights, including a more extended 30-day area history, and Smart Alerts which advise you in the event that you've gone out without your PC (or another gadget joined to a Tile).

At the point when I concealed the Dragonfly in a heap of clothing in a wardrobe, I could hear the tracker's alert quite well when I was in a similar room, and it was perceptible (however I needed to listen hard) from the following room over. Outside, it was perceptible until around 60 feet away. The Tile would in general remain associated with my telephone until I was around 140 feet away. Those are similar outcomes to those you can anticipate from the independent Tile Pro tracker.

A coordinated Tile tracker is not really a fundamental component for the normal business client. Be that as it may, on the off chance that you travel a ton and you need the innovation, it works.

We can speedrun through the remainder of the standard PC stuff since it's equivalent to the Dragonfly Elite that we investigated in late 2019. The console is a flat-out homer, with superb travel and almost no clamor. The glass trackpad is comparably great, with a smooth surface and a peaceful snap. The port determination is amazing for a particularly lightweight 2-in-1, including two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm sound jack on the right, just as a USB-A port, a Kensington lock port, and opening for a SIM card on the left. Windows Hello fills in as it ought to, and the webcam has a helpful protection shade. The four-speaker exhibit conveys probably the best encompass sound I've at any point heard from a Windows PC. The PC stays cool significantly under substantial burdens, and the fans aren't noisy in any way.

The new Dragonfly additionally has a similar eighth Gen vPro-empowered Core i7-8665U processor as a year ago's, model. (tenth Gen Comet Lake vPro isn't out yet; we should see that in the not-so-distant future.) It's a bit of a disappointment not to see tenth Gen contributes a particularly expensive machine — the tantamount Comet Lake tenth Gen i7 has six centers, so you're missing out on multithreaded execution ability, which is valuable for assignments like incorporating code and doing elaborate things with Excel. eighth Gen chips are additionally in a difficult situation contrasted with Ice Lake chips, which will improve inventive work, on account of Intel's new Iris Plus Graphics. The 8665U actually took care of my ordinary burden (which for the most part incorporates Chrome tabs and Slack) fine and dandy, yet in the event that your workday incorporates additional requesting assignments, you might be in an ideal situation hanging tight for a Dragonfly model with tenth Gen CPUs.

Other downsides of the past model continue. The force button holds its inconvenient situation on the left side; I inadvertently squeezed two or multiple times when I was hefting the PC around. The screen actually has the 16:9 viewpoint proportion, which is confined for profitability use; I regularly needed to zoom out to 80 or 70 percent to serenely utilize tabs next to each other. A PC focusing on business power clients definitely should be 16:10 or, shockingly better, 3:2.

These are little blemishes contrasted with the things the Dragonfly does extraordinarily well, which is fundamental to all the other things. In case you're on the lookout for a vPro-empowered framework with both an underlying Tile GPS beacon and an incorporated security screen, this is the solitary PC available with that mix of highlights. In the event that you and your organization are super-rich, sure, spend lavishly away.

Be that as it may, this Dragonfly is an extravagance item. It's the Galaxy S20 Ultra or the iPhone 11 Pro Max of business workstations; it's amazing, yet a great many people needn't bother with it. In the event that you can abandon the extravagant highlights, a less expensive arrangement will turn out great. Furthermore, in the event that you needn't bother with vPro and will go for a ThinkPad all things being equal, you can get an advanced processor.

#technology #hp #laptop #hp elite dragonfly

1 note · View note

mickybee0412 · 4 years ago

Text

4 Music Marketing Platforms That Every New Band Must Have In 2021

I think everyone will agree when I say:

It’s REALLY hard to build a fan base.

Well, while still not as simple as it once was, the following platforms will help you get your music in front of more people sooner!

1. YouTube

The video-sharing juggernaut isn’t only the best place to catch all the latest cat vids but should be the absolute first point of call when considering posting your musical content. Here’s why:

· An average of 5 billion hours worth of video is watched on YouTube every day.

· YouTube is actively accountable for 47% of global music consumption.

· 85% of the most-watched YouTube videos are in fact music videos.

Tips for success:

1. Make your videos shareable! Relatable content gets shared. Topical content gets shared. Valuable content gets shared. Get the point? Create something worth sharing and you’ll amass fans fast.

2. Be consistent. People will come to your page because of the content you release. Don’t mess it up by throwing stupid curveballs into the mix. Keep your content consistent, release it on a schedule and keep all your thumbnails and artist profiles consistent with your other social platforms.

3. Stop, collaborate and listen. Network with other YouTubers and content creators posting content similar to you.

4. Communicate with people commenting on your videos. No matter how big you get remember where you came from. You always have a spare ten minutes to reply to your fans. Communication is key.

2. Spotify

Playlists, playlists, playlists. With Spotify accounting for 35% of digital music and a total of 68% of Spotify users using playlists to discover new music, it would be outrageous not to consider Spotify playlists when curating a marketing campaign. Not only can the addition of a single song into a well-established playlist act as a game-changer, creating playlists can boost interactivity and help you maintain an active position on your followers’ feeds.

Spotify allows you to upload photos, insert bios, and add in any upcoming tour dates, letting your fans know where they can catch a live set. Spotify needs to be tended carefully, but so does everything. If you wanna grow your audience, Spotify is a must.

Tips for success:

1. Submit your tracks to playlist curators. The more people that hear your music, the bigger you grow as an artist. Playlist curators help get your music in front of the right people sooner.

2. Create your own playlists. Doing it yourself will increase your presence and allow you to connect with other playlist curators. It’s a no brainer.

3. Like any of the platforms mentioned in this blog, having a strong image, characterised by your style of music is a highly effective way to grow brand identity.

4. Share your Spotify links! Sharing your music links is the most grassroots way of promotion but it still works. Show people where to find your music by sharing the heck out of it.

5. Once you have a killer image start reaching out to music blogs. If you have something worth writing about they’ll promote it to their fans.

3. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

If social media was an awkward family get together, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter would be the parents you inadvertently cling to for the entire event. Why? Because you need them! With most of the digital world residing within these three platforms, they really do become an absolute must for your marketing strategy. Don’t believe me? Here are the stats:

Facebook: 2.80 billion active users. 1.84 billion users opening the app at least once a day.

Instagram: 1.1 billion active users. 71% of users being under the age of 35.

Twitter: 192 million active users. 500 million tweets being sent daily.

It goes without saying that each platform will require a tailored strategy for the tools and specifications that each app offers but if you can create a campaign that integrates all three, you have a solid foundation for your marketing crusade.

Tips for success:

1. Research similar accounts to give you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

2. In a bid to keep driving your image. Select professional, charismatic profile photos and banner photos, but remember to keep them consistent. Integrate this mother flipping campaign!

3. Facebook and Instagram both have ‘live’ functionality. Use it. It helps you reach people quickly and will promote fan interaction.

4. Update everything regularly. I’m sure if you showered once a month no one would talk to you either. Keep socials fresh.

5. Using appropriate hashtags will open the door to a greater reach and ultimately a larger fan base.

6. Understanding the Facebook and Instagram paid advertising infrastructure is an absolute must if you want to target the right audience. Why? Because you can directly target those that want to see your content. Learn who your audience is and then create paid ads specifically targeting that market. It’ll come at a cost, but the reward is substantial.

4. TikTok

TikTok offers a unique option for those looking to bolster a marketing campaign, it allows you to post short, 15 – 60 second, videos and focuses primarily on creating authentic content. A platform based on participation, TikTok offers the ability to post your own music, follow other musicians, and presents the uniquity of creating pop-culture trends as you connect with one of over 689 million global users. Whilst new to the social media scene, TikTok has made an impact and is here to stay, don’t get left behind (Robley, 2020).

Tips for success:

1. Focus on a niche market. Find a community that you really want to engage with and start establishing a reputation. Create a game plan and work to your strengths.

2. Anyone that’s had success on TikTok knows that one of the main keys to success is consistent posting. If you are posting three to five times a day, you are constantly in front of people.

3. Shareable content! Sound familiar? Post content that’s relatable, post performance videos, post personal blogs, damn it just post stuff that people will share with their friends.

4. TikTok utilises an algorithm. Research into the sorts of content that best work on TikTok and you’ll find your content all over the FYP before you know it.

5. Constantly look at increasing the quality of your content. If your videos look as though they’ve been recorded by a potato, chances are you’re gonna crash and burn.

Look, it might not be a bloody baby but you are gonna need to take baby steps. These things take time but you should absolutely be aiming to get into good habits early. If you want to make it in the big bad digital world you are gonna have to play by the rules.

Whether or not your tweeting, TikToking, or Face…booking, these platforms are a musician's best friend.

Let me know which platforms you’re going to master by leaving a comment below.

#tiktok #instagram #facebook #youtube #spotify #socialmedia

1 note · View note

a-patheticapathetic · 4 years ago

Text

Rishloo - Feathergun: Review

New year, new me. Let’s repeat that until it becomes true.

There seems to be a pattern with how I discover music. At a very young age, I hear a song in a very specific circumstance. It has a big impact on me, but I make absolutely zero effort to check out any of the artist’s other music and instead meander onto another earworm. Then, years later, I have another chance meeting with the same song/album/artist and fall completely down a rabbithole that foundationally changes my taste in music. It happened with Radiohead (High and Dry as one of the default songs in the original Rocksmith), Queens of the Stone Age (Lost Art of Keeping a Secret in a stick figure animation), and Nine Inch Nails (Hurt (Quiet) on Spotify radio). Then, there was this strange song called “Scissorlips” that I saw on a very small Rock Band 3 drum channel. I showed it to my brother because of how fun the chart looked, and made the mistake of watching his reaction to the video. His disinterest embarrassed me enough that I never chased the music. That is, of course, until many years later, when I was introduced to Tool. The rest is history, and is frankly stalling me from starting the actual review. Let’s get to it.

Scissorlips - 8/10

The strange, dark jungle the album begins with is a nice representation of the album cover, although it won’t rule over the entire runtime. Don’t let the de-tuned guitar under the vocals deter you; the rest of the guitarwork here is beautiful. As we reach the pre-chorus, the percussionists may hear why I was interested in this song as a kid. This is also where the sonic background really opens up, swallowing you for a moment before the intro verse comes back. The lyricism here is also very abstract, yet isn’t impossible to follow. A couple of metallic bites taken out of the mostly psychedelic walls of guitars, then, the first of many beautiful delay effects. The build-up got me pretty good when I heard this so many years ago, and It’s still damn good. For the love. There are so many guitar lines here that just intertwine and enlace you. Then, something a bit heavier (yet oddly hopeful) to round the song out.

Turning Sheep into Goats - 7/10

This intro is more of what can be expected for the rest of the album, sonically speaking. A lone guitar with delay playing a complicated and alluring line in a strange time signature, then built upon. The path you may assume this song will follow is extremely suddenly changed at the chorus, the vocals really driving it home. Then, back into that nice opening riff like nothing happened. The next time that chorus comes thundering around, listen to that low guitar and the way it combines with the drums. Then drop out the ugliness into a floating mesh of palm mutes and synthetic strings. And don’t miss the fl

Systematomatic - 7/10

awless transition into the next song. Immediately, a new riff rises from the pond of reverb. You may not identify it immediately, but don’t worry, you’ll get more chances to. Very fast guitar-work that somehow doesn't sound so frantic, although the chorus definitely has a certain desperation to it. The mood gets heavy again, before quickly sliding into a strange, feverish haze. Some hits of percussion, then a recontexutalized and slower return to the riff at the start of the song. Weave us back into war.

River of Glass - 8/10

Now this is an ear-catching introduction. What seems to be a calm wave of delay is punctuated by war drums and a grimier lead. The mood builds, then crescendos into the song proper. The chorus is hear damn near immediately, and is extremely catchy for prog. This album is really just full of extremely memorable vocals, and the instrumentals complement them perfectly. We get two goes-around before we fall into these twisting and sliding strings. The drummer is also on his A-game here. Then, the guitars push into the clouds before coming back down with another short but heavy low. Then it all cuts out for a second, juts to make the burst into the final chorus that much more effective.

Keyhole in the Sky - 7/10

This one is simpler, but also very filling and peaceful. Unfortunately it does begin to showcase my only problem with this album; the vocals are mixed too loud at times. And while the singer is absolutely incredible, sometimes I’d like the instrumentals to breathe a bit more. The walls of high guitar come back around, this time feeling much more friendly and familiar. One last chorus, closing on a quiet note. Though it’s not over; an alien feedback loop and somber, echoey horn passage lead us into the next track

Downhill - 10/10

This song has two main phases, and is absolutely perfect throughout. An easy start; a relatively simple and serene riff fed through a pleasant delay pedal, with some subtle synth and bass backing. The vocals shine through, as clear as ever. And wave, goodbye. Then, like stepping through a portal into phase one. A very interesting, rhythmic and almost bluesy instrumental accompanies the title-drop. Then, we fall for miles down a well of piano. The bottom greets us with a moonlit key solo, then an incredible Floydian guitar solo. Hanging on the last note, phase two begins with an ominous drone and repeating guitar line. The drums rise, give a false start. then... perfection. I cannot do phase two justice with words. Just close your eyes, listen, and be swept away in what I believe to be one of the greatest vocal performances of all time.

Lost.

Feathergun in the Garden of the Sun - 9/10

Not to be outdone by the previous masterpiece, the title track opens with another wonderful soundscape, before the distortion comes in. The drums pick up the tension, bringing us into the pre-chorus. That riff is going to be impossible to tap your foot to at first, but the next ones should be easier. And here we have perhaps the best chorus on the record; extremely powerful in writing and execution on the parts of every band member. The second time around is just as good as the first, then the brdige begins. Ready, aim... The heaviest riff on the album, and an abrupt switch into the last chorus. Fade out.

Dreamcatcher - 7/10

A nice break from the intensity. This feels like a peaceful tidepool on an alien world, with creatures and colors beyond the world floating around my head. Short but sweet.

Diamond Eyes - 6/10

By no means bad, I do feel like this one may be the weakest track on the album. While it’s certainly beautiful, I feel like it doesn’t do a whole lot that’s new or interesting. Also, when listening at high volume (which is the proper way to listen to this album), the faults in the mixing really rear their ugly heads during the choruses. Still, there are some very pleasant rolling delay loops here during the bridge, and a nice and satisfying buildup towards the end.

Katsushika - 7/10

While the guitar opening this track may be the most straight-forward and least effects-driven riff we’ve heard so far, this song will eventually become the most alien one of the entire lineup. In a good way, of course. I can barely even decipher exactly what’s going on in the instrumentation during that build. The chorus also ends with a nice drop-off into the next verse. You may be noticing a pattern with the songwriting, where the chorus usually leads into the second verse, following the pattern of the first one but with more layering. I like it; it gives the ideas present more time to mature and develop. Anyways, here comes the bridge, where everything changes. Out of everything going on here, I feel like the drums and the background vocals are the most striking thing about this outro. What a fantastic progression and dropout. Beautiful monsters.

Weevil Bride - 8/10

The finale. This riff here is extremely well-done. The tone here is somehow piercingly bright and concerningly dark at the same time. The lyricals themes of the album also come to a head here. This chorus is another incredibly written and performed beast; just wait until it’s modulated. The second verse lays away with the subtleties and strikes at the head. And I just need to know that everything is fine, and everyone’s alright. This bridge also kicks ass, with its heart-pouding combination of guitars and toms. Then, comes the heaviest part of the entire album: Yes, please. Then we are snapped out of the masochism and lifted back to hear the main point of the album, before the intro riff carries us into an uncertain but complete conclusion. After the “true” song ends, there is a long passage of somber horns and a tranquil, almost lullaby-esque keyboard. There’s something extremely nostalgic about this outro to me, but I still can’t put my finger on where it comes from. This section almost feels like the music they play after the end of a play, as the lights come on and you make your way down the dimly-lit theater steps on slightly numb and shaky legs. The story is over; this is your time to reflect.

The main reason I wanted to write about this album in particular is because I feel like it hasn’t gotten the attention it’s deserved. It truly feels like a masterpiece worthy of widespread recognition and praise, but despite being released over a decade ago, few people have even heard of this band. It feels like injustice, not only for Rishloo’s efforts, but for the people who would connect with this album as much as I have. Also, there’s the slightly selfish hope that increased attention would incentivize the band to work on more new stuff, or better yet, remaster their older works.

In any case, It’s very late, my back hurts because my spine hates my nervous system, and I need to actually get to sleep tonight so I can heal the godforsaken nerve that wedged itself in my inner workings yesterday. On a scale from “Your all-time low just lowered again”, to “Want some? Yes, please”, I give Feathergun a “Oh, what beautiful monsters”.

#music #music recommendation #music reccs #album review #track review #rishloo #feathergun

3 notes · View notes

lovemesomesurveys · 4 years ago

Text

Are you still in quarantine/under stay at home order? (if you're taking this during Covid-19, that is) The state isn’t, but I am.

Has stuff been opening back up where you are? Yeah. Although, now dining in isn’t an option again in my area.

What have you missed most that you haven't been able to do due to Covid-19? I didn’t do much even before all this, but I did like going grocery shopping with my mom and going to the movies, which we did quite often. And now with it being summer I’m really sad I can’t go to the beach. Beach days were the only thing I liked about summer. I could still go shopping with my mom and go to the beach, but I just don’t feel safe or comfortable going out in public and being around people right now when the number of cases are still so high and continue to rise. It makes me extremely anxious and scared. It doesn’t help that my state is a hotspot.

What state do you live in? California.

Do you personally know anyone who has had Covid-19? Yes. She actually ended up recovering from that, testing negative later on, but she died recently from complications caused by it. She was on dialysis and after she got sick, even though she got better, it affected her kidneys and she had to stop dialysis. Once that happens, it’s not long after that you pass away. She was my grandma’s best friend, thus a very close family friend. :( She was the sweetest, caring, kindhearted person.

Have you had it? (or think you might have?) No, not so far. Although, whenever I feel crappy or cough for any reason my mind automatically goes there. It’s not unusual for me not to feel well and have days where I’m feeling extra crappy, but nowadays I have to play the game: is it my normally crappiness or something else? :/ I also have dry mouth and my throat tends to get dry in the summer anyway and ugh again it’s something normal for me but I have to wonder about that, too.

Do you know anyone who is a healthcare worker? No. Well, apart from my doctors obviously.

Have you still been working these past few months or not? I don’t have a job. I wasn’t working prior to this either.

If you weren't working, are you still in school? No, thankfully. I graduated UC 5 years ago, so I’ve been done way before this started. What is/was your major in college? I majored in psych.

Or if you're not in college yet, what do you want to study?

If your school closed due to Covid-19, do you miss it?

What are you most excited about when life goes (somewhat) back to normal? It’s hard for me to even see that point right now. I know people think I sound like a Negative Nancy, but I think I’m just being real. It’s goings to be a long time before we get to a point where we don’t have to have this virus looming over our heads everyday. It’s been kicking our ass. It’s never going to go away, it will likely be like the flu in that we have a covid season, but I pray we get to the point where we can get under control and managed. A point where there’s a vaccine and effective medication. But like I said, that’s going to take time. Masks may be the new way of life for many of us.

Did Covid-19 impact any major plans you had for this spring/summer? No beach trips or birthday vacay. :( That’s not important, I know, but I am still sad about it.

Do you collect anything? Key chains and giraffe stuffed animals and knicknacks.

What's the name of your favorite restaurant? (chain or local) Wingstop.

What is your favorite thing to order when you eat there? I get takeout, but anyway I love their boneless garlic parm and lemon pepper wings with their ranch.

Have you still been able to get food from there during Covid-19? Yes. I always got takeout anyway, so that hasn’t been any different for me.

Are you planning on eating there anytime soon when they reopen? I’ll say it a 3rd time haha I just get it to go and eat at home.

Have you discovered any good new music during quarantine? Yeah, but not because I’m in quarantine. That implies I’ve done so because I’ve been home and had more time to do so or only did so because I didn’t have anything to do. I’ve spent most of my time at home the past few years, not just this year.

What's a new song you've been loving lately? (not necessarily newly released, just something you've recently discovered) Lately I’ve been getting new music from TikToks. A couple recent ones are Dream Girl by Ir Sais and Summer Days by Martin Garrix ft. Macklemore and Patrick Stump.

Have you been able to keep in touch with friends during this time? I don’t have any friends, so that hasn’t been an issue.

What is your favorite Starbucks drink? White chocolate mocha, caramel macchiato, and their fall and winter seasonal drinks.

Do you prefer Starbucks or a local coffee shop? Just give me coffeeee.

What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid? do you still ever watch it? I had a lot of favorites. Some I still watch like Boy Meets World, Full House, Family Matters, Disney Channel shows like That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, The Proud Family, Hannah Montana, etc (thanks to Disney+) and old Nick shows like Rugrats, Doug, and Hey Arnold. I recently found out Hulu has Step by Step, so I’ll be watching that again at some point.

Have you been watching a lot of movies during quarantine? >> No more than I would be usually, since my daily life didn’t change as dramatically as most people’s did. But yeah. <<< Yeah, I’ve gotten into a few new shows and binge watched a few old ones during this time, but again I wouldn’t contribute that to quarantine cause I would have been home majority of the time still anyway.

What is your favorite Disney movie? Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story are among the top

Do you have Disney plus? Yep. That’s how I watch those old Disney shows I mentioned before.

Are you a fan of Hamilton? I’ve never seen it.

Are you planning to watch Hamilton on Disney plus? I have thought about checking it out, so we’ll see.

Have you seen Hamilton live? (Broadway or elsewhere) Like I said, I’ve never seen it.

What is your favorite musical? Sweeney Todd.

Have you watched any musicals online recently? No. Or ever.

What was the last live performance you went to before quarantine? I saw Phantom of the Opera 3 years ago.

What was the best concert you've ever been to? All the concerts I went to were awesome. Man, it’s been over 10 years now since my last concert I really miss ‘em.

Do you volunteer anywhere? No. I’ve volunteered at a few places in the past, though.

What is your favorite movie on Netflix? >> ??? There are... so many movies on Netflix. <<<

Did you relocate due to Covid-19? No.

What is one positive thing about the past few months for you? Uhhh.

Do you prefer streaming music or buying it? I stream it.

Do you use Spotify? Yep.

What was the last book you read? I recently started The Girl and the Deadly End by AJ Rivers. It’s the final book in a 7 book series.

Have you been baking during quarantine? Nope.

What is your favorite thing to bake? It’s been a few years since I’ve done any baking. I used to love it during the holidays.

Do you enjoy doing crafts? I think they can be fun, but they’re not something I do very often at all. I lack the artistic ability, creativity, inspiration, motivation, and energy.

Have you ever done crafts for money? No.

Do you shop on Etsy? Yes. I love Etsy.

Have you ever sold anything on Etsy? Nope.

What song are you listening to right now? I’m not listening to music, I’m listening to an ASMR video.

What genre of music is your favorite? I like a variety of music.

Can you speak any foreign languages? Not fluently, but I know some Spanish.

What is/was your favorite class in school? I always enjoyed English and then later on in college I enjoyed most of my psych classes as well.

Who was your favorite teacher most recently? I’ve been done with school for 5 years now.

What is the lock screen and home screen on your phone? The lock screen is a photo of the ocean with a Bible verse on it and my home screen is a rose gold background.

Do you play Animal Crossing? Yeppp.

Do you have any pets? What kind? What is/are your pet(s) name(s)? I have a 3 year old German Shepherd/Lab mix named Princess Leia. <3

what is a song lyric you love? >> Right, I’m definitely not going to think of that off the top of my head right now. <<< Haha, right. Not to mention, I have a ton of favorite lyrics.

Have you done anything recently to support Black Lives Matter? I’ve signed petitions.

Are there any songs you feel transport you to a world that doesn't exist? Jason Mraz songs were kinda like that. Haha. It seemed like he lived in some whimsical fantasyland.

What songs do that for you? “but my breath fogged up glass, and so I drew a new face and I laughed” lol okay Jason Mraz. Haha that’s the only thing coming to mind right now. It’s almost 7AM okay I can’t think.

What is your favorite ethnicity/cuisine of food? Italian.

What are some popular things that you don't like/aren't interested in? Hmm. What’s even popular right now? I’m out of the loop.

When was the last time you got a haircut? Back in February.

What was the last movie (or musical) you watched? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the other day.

What was the last movie you saw in the theatre? The Invisible Man.

How soon are you planning on going back to work? (If you've been off) I don’t have a job, remember?

What is an item you own that means a lot to you? I’ll always cherish my giraffe stuffed animals and knickknacks.

Do you have a favorite t-shirt? All of my graphic tees.

What other proshot musicals would you love to see streaming online? You sure love musicals. I like a few musicals, sure, but I’m not super into them like you seem to be. There aren’t any right now that I want to see that I can think of. Well, apart from maybe checking out Hamilton. What is something you're looking forward to? Summer being over.

How do you plan on celebrating Covid-19 being over, whenever that is? >> The problem with this idea is that... it’s not that simple? From what I understand, it’s not like one day we’re all gonna say “that’s it! we’ve officially eradicated this virus from the earth and we will never have to worry about it again!” I’m guessing it’s going to be a slow process of reopening with a lot of false starts and rollbacks (as new waves crest and protective measures have to be re-implemented). Even that first day that I go out to a restaurant is probably going to feel really weird and even a little “wrong”. I’m not sure how much celebrating is really going to be happening. <<< All of this. Like I said earlier, it’s not ever going completely go away or be over. We’ll hopefully get it under control at some point and find an effective vaccine and medications and not have the fear of it constantly looming over us, but we got a long way to go. And when that does happen, I’ll still be cautious. It’s sure going to feel weird when I do feel comfortable to go out again, though. It felt so weird just going outside for a bit recently one night cause it was the first time I had been out of the house at all since my doctor appointment back in May. That was really weird and scary for me. Prior to that I hadn’t gone anywhere since early March. Sooo yeah. I clearly won’t be rushing out anywhere anytime soon.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

3 notes · View notes

interesting-blog-name · 4 years ago

Text

LOOSE REVIEWS (It Looks Sad., Pablo’s Paintings, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Steve Lacy)

Just a bunch of very quick, very throwaway reviews that I put together while I’m writing the Björk discography post (I’m currently at Vespertine, so this shit is gonna take a while). Mostly slightly underground bands, all very short projects and one of them don’t even have a project, but you should check them out. Anyway.

It Looks Sad. – Songs For Quarantine

Not much to say about this. It is a 9-minute EP, obviously not meant to be taken as a serious, ambitious release, but it’s from a band I wanted to check out: It Looks Sad.. They’re categorized as emo, but their style reminds the listener a lot more of shoegaze and dream pop, at least from what I’ve heard by them (right now, this and Drool, which fits cozily in my Summer playlist).

If you want some moody music for the quarantine (if it’s still going on by the time I post this) and you don’t care if the songs sound like they were recorded in an underwater cave, then go ahead and listen to this I guess. It’s average as fuck but whatever, that’s the point.

WORST TO BEST: Eyes, Love, Waves, Bug

bedroom music/10

“*insert shoegaze mumbling here*”

It Looks Sad. - Kaiju

2015 EP. Two tracks, one sucks and the other is tolerable. Like I really don’t know what the fuck the singer was trying to do with Creature, he’s hollering all over the place, and the delivery would be more at home in maybe some poorly-recorded punk song, but the instrumental is nothing like that, as it’s pretty much indie-rock 101; not to mention the lyrics, which are the blandest broken-hearted songwriting I’ve heard yet, probably. I now understand how truly emo they were.

For Nagoya, I can at least say the hook is pretty cool, but that’s it really. I guess I’m grateful they changed their style.

2.45/10

“Best friend this is terrible. You know it’s inevitable. I hope you come back, I hope he comes back.”

Pablo’s Paintings

Just wanted to give a shoutout to the underground Leeds, Yorkshire band Pablo’s Paintings. I had listened to Lizard a long while ago, and loved it, so I decided to check out the rest of their stuff today (May 25th), and it’s very solid. The track You’ve Got A Long Way To Go draws heavily from a psychedelic influence, while Paint’s Gone Dry and So Long (All Your Friends) sound like something The Beatles would maybe write.

I guess you could call them formulaic, but their mixing and distinct sound are all pretty good for a band that hasn’t gotten a song with over 2000 streams on Spotify. Their songs can be a little to bubblegum-ish, such as So Long (All Your Friends) which doesn’t really stand out as many others, but for the most part, they deliver. Can I Draw You Something? has a slight edge to it, in comparison, but still sporting cute lyrics about just drawing for someone, and Ghost In The Machine has a great progression to it, and a very cool cover art to accompany it. It’s clear the band has a taste for visual arts, from the lyrics to the band’s name.

In short, they do have a long way to go, and I hope they release an album soon, considering all but two of their Spotify singles were from last year; I’d be the first to listen to it.

WORST TO BEST: So Long (All Your Friends), Paint’s Gone Dry, You’ve Got A Long Way To Go, Can I Draw You Something?, Lizard, Ghost In The Machine

good band check them out/10

“I draw these lines and take them for a walk. I find that I say things better when I don’t need to talk”

Vancouver Sleep Clinic – Winter

Contrary to the name, the band Vancouver Sleep Clinic is from Australia. Led by ambient singer (a term I didn’t know existed until today) Tim Bettinson, from my understanding, the band have partly built their audience by reeling people into the music by putting having the songs feature in TV shows and movies and whatnot, since there’s a hefty list of times their songs have appeared in this type of media on their Wikipedia page. I decided to listen to Winter because I discovered Stakes from the fact that the $uicideboy$ sampled it on the song Sold My Soul To Satan Waiting In Line At The Mall, and liked it a lot. The EP as a whole, however, not nearly as much.

To start off with the main problem I have with Winter, the tracks are all the same. Seriously, I cannot distinguish one from the other; all the songs are soaked in reverb and mainly center around simple acoustic guitar chords and generic pianos, mixed with Tim’s head voice and sometimes the dumb decision to include a synthesized drumming track, like in Vapour, where the fast-paced hi-hats sound so out of place and clip so badly in your ears, it sounds like your earphones are having a mini seizure, but not in a cool way. Meanwhile in Flaws, there’s this unnecessary, wack finger-snapping that makes it sound like I’m listening to some techno song with around 3000 views on YouTube (I do like his backing vocals in the track though).

At its best, tracks like the opener, Collapse, offer an actually powerful passage, in that song’s case, the hook breakdown, where the 808 drum patterns are actually very welcome, and the synths under it are very beautiful and harmonize really well. The final track, Rebirth, also attempts a grand breakdown of sorts, but falls flat because the song is so unnecessarily stretched out and weirdly segmented, and it’s so unexpected: the song is a slow piano/guitar ballad as usual, and then, around 3 minutes in, after the song fades out almost entirely and tricks you into thinking it ended, the drum kicks start rising and all of a sudden there’s... something? I don’t even know what instruments are playing apart from the superimposed drums and what I think is an electric guitar, because it sounds like god knows what, an overheating computer mixed with some shrieking sound, which I assume is the guitar, way off in the background. And then Tim sings a last verse and the song suddenly ceases to exist. Same thing happens with the shortest track here, (Aftermath), consisting of 4 lines, your average piano and strings, and of course, the reverb. It builds up an epic instrumental, and after the brief singing section, just ends. No further instrumental work, just woosh. It’s gone.

I will give credit to Tim’s verses. Even though they’re always delivered with the same intonation, his lyrics are alright, and at least in Stakes, he employs some backing vocals that really make the track, and the hook is magnificent. They tend to blend into one another, with constant themes being metaphors for words he should have or regrets saying, the cold (obviously, given the EP title), sometimes drowning/large bodies of water, and of course, all tracks are about melancholy and heartbreak. But in some parts of the EP, his verses really do feel like some alright poetry, such as the awkward last verse in Rebirth (“I’m starting again, tearing my flesh, stripped to the bone, the all that I’ve grown. Leaving behind, breathe like a child. It’s taken the winter to find who I am”) or the already mentioned beautiful hook in Stakes. In most of the songs, however, I find his themes to be too repetitive and, I wouldn’t say uninspired, but run-of-the-mill.

So overall, the EP doesn’t amount to much. All the tracks attempt to go this emotional route, but they’re very repetitive, and that numbs them and robs them of their emotion a lot. Listen to it if you want to relax, or maybe even sleep to it if you want to take their name literally.

WORST TO BEST: Vapour, Flaws, (Aftermath), Rebirth, Collapse, Stakes

4/10

“I sunk in oceans blue, now they’re all frozen over. I should have took your hand, we should have crossed the border.”

Steve Lacy – Steve Lacy’s Demo

Member of The Internet, singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, drummer and producer Steve Lacy is an artist I’ve wanted to check out for a while. I have at some point in my life heard his song Looks, off this demo, but thankfully I forgot how it went so I can check it out again. It’s gonna be a quick listen and review, but I’m curious (and while looking him up I found out he won a Grammy with Kendrick’s DAMN., for producing, backing vocals and songwriting, so that’s cool, congrats Steve).

Right away, I’ll just mention this project is very lo-fi. As in, the drums and his voice are poorly mixed. I’ll give it a little bit of a pass because this man played all the instruments in here and I appreciate the fuck out of that, but anyway. You can tell right at the first track that singing isn’t Steve’s forte, at least in this album, at this time. The hook in that song is just bad, the good part are the instruments, the guitar riffs and the very dynamic bassline, plus the fun little bongos. However, just like all songs here except Dark Red, this is waaaaaaaay too short. It has two short hooks, the verse, and that’s it. The songwriting, I feel, is one of Steve’s more substantial talents; this song I just mentioned is mainly about how a relationship can’t progress because the two involved don’t like much about each other apart from their looks, and Ryd is all about taking a girl to your backseat, but even though these themes are very simplistic, Steve fleshes them out into something more interesting and melodically rich. In Ryd, his smooth vocals surf over the sunny riffs, but what takes away from it are the weirdly mixed drums, as they sound like they’re playing way louder than they should be. The track is groovy though.

The most focused song here, Dark Red, tells the story of a man who’s worried his girl might leave him soon. The instrumentals are nothing special, very basic, and same with the vocals, even though they’re more rooted and solid in this song. The next song, Thangs, emphasizes its bass way more than other songs, but once again, Steve’s voice is not pleasing to listen to, specifically his high-pitched backing vocals, they’re awful. The lyrics are the most basic here, and this song just goes by without leaving any impact after ending pretty abruptly.

Haterlovin is weird. The vocals are way too low, but I like how they differentiate themselves by not going the melodic route, instead Steve chooses to rap them, and his flow in the verse is impressive, but at the same time the hook is way too repetitive for the song to work, and even though it’s nice he switched up and focused the track on the drums, it still leaves it pretty bare.

To close it up, Some brings some promise, with a pretty funky bassline and hook, but then ends out of nowhere and starts a hidden track, Snaily, which I admit has nice falsetto vocals from Steve, but I don’t know why I couldn’t be a separate track. Overall, the album isn’t great, but I appreciate how organic and talented Steve is. Throughout the songs, his creativity is pretty noticeable, so I can’t hate his efforts, but unfortunately his ideas don’t find the right light to shine here.

WORST TO BEST: Thangs, Haterlovin, Looks, Some, Dark Red, Ryd

4.5/10

“Next thing I know she was feeling on me, and I was in the M double-O D when she said park my car down the backstreet”

3 notes · View notes