#train imagery makes me go brrrr

[planetsandmagic]

let's go

[starsonmarsy]

Don't mind me, just here with my fishing rod. Fishing for a very fractionated info dump on any interesting hobby. Will i be lucky enough to catch a big fish?

i think it's your lucky day!

the funny thing is that i spent a solid 5 minutes trying to think of what to rant about, because my brain loves to forget everything i know about myself when asked.

okay so it's a massive topic so i'm probably gonna pick a few aspects and run with it, but i am absolutely obsessed with music. listening to it, playing it, making it, analyzing it, transcribing it, what have you.

i play 7 instruments, though the word "play" is used loosely because i only really actively play 2-3 but shhh. so in order from what i'm most comfortable playing to least: piano, guitar, ukulele, bass guitar, kalimba, violin, alto saxophone.

back when my mental illness wasn't going brrrr so much i composed relatively often for piano, and a little bit for guitar, but piano is my main instrument. i'm trying to get back into it, but i wanted a stronger base rather than just throwing notes together and seeing if they work. so lately i've been re-teaching myself/learning new things about music theory to have a good foundation.

like a totally normal person, i took the sheet music i transcribed of songs i love and analyzed them. i like to make sheet music or guitar tabs that don't exist of my favorites so i can play them. i unfortunately don't have perfect pitch, but i have decent-ish relative pitch, so i can figure out notes after a few listens and tries.

i've been really into analyzing chord progressions. everyone knows about the "four chords of pop" which is just I-V-vi-IV chords of any scale. (or in non-music terms, 1st, 5th, minor 6th, 4th). the closest thing to pop i listen to is indie pop (and also some j-pop), so i don't hear that progression often. but in the songs i do listen to, they do nicely follow and progress in a way that works well. so the other day i spent a solid 3 hours just madly scribbling roman numerals on sheet music. and it blew my mind that there were so many patterns to be found, especially in the particular artist's music. it was almost like a formula, except every song managed to be unique but also flow together and tell a beautiful, gut wrenching story.

so that's the instrumental side of things at least. as for lyrics. oh boy, do not get me started on lyrics. because i am a Sad Bitch™ my music taste lately has been songs that touch upon struggling with mental illness. either that or sad/yearning love songs. and also some alternative/indie rock. but anyways, lyrics are so fascinating to me and i truly dont get how people just shit out beautiful things and put it to chords. i can either write lyrics, or write the instrumentals. if i try to do both it fails epically. i also can't sing well, so there's that.

but lyrics really interest me because i used to be an avid reader as a kid before gifted kid burnout, and i also love reading and writing poetry (maybe i will write and share a poem sometime). so using metaphors and other literary devices to evoke an emotion is not new to me, but it still amazes me every time how beautifully people can put things into words or create imagery.

honestly idk if any of this made any sense or where my train of thought went, but here is your big fish info dump 🐟

[creativity-is-rebellion]

Top 10 Creepy/Scary Songs

I know it isn’t Halloween, but really, we can do this kind of thing any time of year, because I like discussing scary things. The following list is an eclectic mix of songs from varying genres that have creeped me out to varying degrees over the years. Enjoy!

'Acid Rain' Lorn (2015)

The the music video clip features zombie cheerleaders dancing their final dance for their onlooker (presumably Death himself) around an abandoned diner before they pass on into the afterlife. You-Tubers and Reddit users alike believe that the video depicts “Native American traditions that believe when Death comes you have the chance to dance your last dance, and Death has no choice but to watch. The wooden Native American looking into the distance in the diner for the video is a tell tale sign of this artistic vision.” Symbolism aside, it is hauntingly mesmerising.

In addition, and aside from the music video, the lyrics "daylight in bad dreams" makes me think that the subject of the song has bad dreams about living their everyday life, and that he doesn’t want to wake up, because his day-to-day drudgery is one long nightmare. This unsettles me, because it reminds me of the quote by Hannah Arendt, who discussed the banality of evil, within the context of Nazi Germany. Horror doesn’t have to be fantastical when reality is horrific enough. Which brings me to my second song....

'This is America' Childish Gambino (2018)

The music video for this song went viral at the beginning of 2018 for its shock value and controversial symbolic imagery. Several YouTube videos have been dedicated to deciphering the meaning behind both the video and the lyrics. The video and the lyrics are primarily dealing with the plights of African-Americans, and also seem to depict the careless handling of gun violence in America, in the wake of seemingly endless massacres and shootings. The laws don’t change, despite the damage that these events do. All of these issues create a horrific landscape for modern-day America, which can be far more terrifying than any supernatural phenomena.

'If I Had a Heart' Fever Ray (2009)

Also the theme song for the TV series 'Vikings,' the music video for this song by Swedish-Norwegian folk group Fever Ray depicts children fleeing with creepy-looking shamans from what appears to be a massacre in a palatial mansion, where bodies are strewn across the living room and even across the empty pool in the back garden, all while a demonic voice utters “more, give me more, give me more.” It appears that it may be Death itself panning his eyes across this visual landscape, watching it all unfold, and always wanting “more” death. It also fits the TV series it is a theme song for, as it could also be seen as an ode to human greed, as seen in the lyrics, “this will never end because I want more.” The whole song makes for eerie, ethereal listening.

'Theme Song' American Horror Story (2011)

Speaking of theme songs for TV series, the opening theme for this FX anthology series is one of the most disturbing I have witnessed, and of course, the one that had the most impact was the intro for the the first season, Murder House. Baby heads in jars, along with other body parts, a gruesome cellar, and a lot of creepy child pictures flash on the screen sporadically as the theme song plays at the beginning of each episode. The discordant, spooky sounds set up an uneasy vibe for each episode, making audiences constantly on edge 

'The Carnival' Amanda Jenssen (2012)

Also featured as a song in AHS Freak Show, this song has a foreboding, long intro before Ms. Jenssen’s moody voice kicks in, and, thanks to Freak Show, I will always associate this song with Twisty the Clown, and those scary teeth he has. The lyrics fit well with Jenssen’s album that they were featured on, entitled, “Hymns for the Haunted.” Give it a listen.

'Hurdy Gurdy Man' Donovan (1968)

If you've ever seen the 2007 movie 'Zodiac,' you'll know what I mean. But even before this movie came out, I remember travelling in the car with my parents and listening to this song playing on the radio, or on one of their cassette tapes on a long road trip, and even if it is not supposed to be a creepy song, it always sent shivers up my spine when Donovan sang the lyrics, “Down through all eternity, the crying of humanity.” It just felt so final and nihilistic, and that the Hurdy Gurdy Man was not the answer, but rather the cause, of all this endless sorrow. Call me weird, but this song definitely fits that shooting scene in Zodiac, if only because of how it mirrors the helplessness one would most definitely feel if being shot at unarmed, or if trying to calm the eternal cries of humanity.

'House of the Rising Sun' Lauren O'Connell (2012)

There are many versions of this song, the version by The Animals in being the most well-known and popular, but it’s Lauren O’Connell’s version (also featured in AHS Coven) that is the creepiest rendition of all. It’s slow, moody and builds tension in a way that makes you feel that the “House in New Orleans” is definitely a godforsaken place that no-one would want to end up in, and that all who go there face certain doom. Let’s just say the AHS franchise does creepy songs well.

'Turn Around, Look at Me' The Vogues (1966)

Made creepy by Final Destination 3, and probably one of the best things about this dismal instalment to the Final Destination series. Every time this song comes on the radio or over a loud-speaker, we know that the protagonist and her pals are in for a rough time, and the final time it plays on the train, when a guitarist disembarks, you feel as if Death itself is singing the song, and it is a memorable omen for the devastating events that follow. What can I say, I just really appreciate a well-placed song in a movie that creates the right atmosphere (or more appropriately, “atmosfear”). This song in this movie does exactly that.

'Missing' Everything But the Girl (1996)

Seriously, just listen to the lyrics behind this dance-y track. The singer asks pretty early on if the subject of her song “could be dead.” Other depressing lyrics are hidden in this seemingly upbeat Eurodance track. I like that lyrics such as this can exist in what appears to be a cheerful song. It gives it layers, and I appreciate layers as much as I appreciate symbolism.

'Every Breath You Take' The Police (1983)

The ultimate stalker song. I read that Sting was inspired by some sort of Cold War version of a Big Brother situation, and I never got why there were people that thought this was such a romantic song they played it at their wedding. It’s musically pleasing, but the lyrics give off a suffocating vibe, and I cannot help but think the stalker in the song got the upper hand in the end, probably in some sort of Nick Cave “Where the Wild Roses Grow” scenario. Brrrr.

And that concludes my list for now. There might be a part two somewhere down the track. Adios, and pleasant nightmares.