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mysmorgasbordoffantabulosa · 3 years ago

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Where did that financial spreadsheet in Korean come from?

So the last contract they signed with Hybe was prior to the MOTS7 release and tour that never was? This was pre-Grammys right? I feel like while they were highly successful and global stars at that point once the pandemic hit their stardom took another stratospheric leap when Dynamite and Butter came out and garnered them two back to back Grammy nominations. That along with what happened to Hybe stock when the Festa 2022 video came out and they announced their solo project/slight hiatus phase, I feel like they could have negotiated for way more than they prob did for this contract they are now in. While they are well off they are not nearly as wealthy as Hybe is. Hybe has made billions off of them while they themselves have only made millions. And Hybe is still using them to spawn other K-pop bands to try and keep the talent and future income stream coming in.

I wonder if BTS is being made to work more during this hiatus period than they thought and also not get the support they need to properly launch their solo efforts. I heard JK say in the Festa that some of the producers don’t have time for him.

Do you think it’s in their best interest to stay with Hybe? Do you think they are even interested anymore in staying together as a band? Or are they headed for disbandment no matter what they said during Festa 2022? In a video from a few years back (maybe 2018), Tae says he wants to stay with the members for many years to come and continue to make music with them. Do you think that was just something he said in front of the cameras? Or have things changed so much since then that some of them want out of BTS by now?

WOW 20 questions or what! lol

I'll try my best my best to answer your questions, here we go...

Where did that financial spreadsheet in Korean come from?

It came from a financial analysis who works with HYBE I believe, and was in quite a lot of Korean news reports at the time, in the summer of 2020.

So the last contract they signed with Hybe was prior to the MOTS7 release and tour that never was? This was pre-Grammys right?

Yes. They signed their new contract with BigHit (now HYBE) in the Spring of 2018. However, they didn't first go to the Grammys until Spring 2020, two years later.

I feel like they could have negotiated for way more than they prob did for this contract they are now in. HYBE has made billions off them. HYBE is still using them to spawn other K-pop bands to try and keep the talent and future income stream coming in. (BTW Edited down for key parts...)

Firstly, let's get this out of the way, BigHit/HYBE are a very generous K-Pop company to it's artist, unlike many other companies, they don't make trainee pay back their training and they also start paying them immediately after they've debut. Many companies don't do this, and often idol are in debt for years after disbandment.

Secondly, the profit sharing with HYBE and BTS is quite generous for a K-Pop entertainment company. This is a comparison of the big 4 companies and what they do with when dividing profits with their artists:

SM ENTERTAINMENT Contract years: 7 years Physical sales: Agency (95%), Artist (5%) (If there were £20m profit, NCT would get £1m) Physical sales renewed: Agency (90%), Artist (10%) (If there were £20m profit, NCT would get £2m) Events: Agency (60%), Artist (40%) (If there were £20m profit, NCT would get £8m) Overseas promotions: Agency (30%), Artist (70%) (If there were £20m profit, NCT would get £14m)

JYP ENTERTAINMENT Contract years: 7 years Physical sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%) Physical sales renewed: Agency (30%), Artist (70%) Events: Agency (60%), Artist (40%) Overseas promotions: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

YG ENTERTAINMENT Contract years: 7 years Physical sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%) Physical sales renewed: Agency (30%), Artist (70%) Events: Agency (40%), Artist (60%) Overseas promotions: Agency (50%), Artist (50%)

BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT Contract years: 7 years Physical sales: Agency (50%), Artist (50%) (if there was £20m profit BTS would get £10m) Physical sales renewed: Agency (30%), Artist (70%) (If there were £20m profit, BTS would get £14m) Events: Agency (50%), Artist (50%) (if there was £20m profit BTS would get £10m) Overseas promotions: Agency (30%), Artist (70%)(If there were £20m profit, BTS would get £14m)

This purely on sales from albums, merch and concerts, it doesn't factor in copyright royalties for songwriting or even ownership of master tapes (though it's likely that BigHit own these rights outright).

Also remember the company will usually put up all the upfront cost for producing and distributing albums, merch, comebacks and tours. Some companies, make the artist pay for some of these costs, HYBE does not, so isn't right that HYBE recoup some if not all of that cost?

Also, as shareholders of the company, BTS would benefit from the dividend payments.

Also, those profit share percentages were from the original contract, we don't know what they renegotiated in 2018. Though I'd imagine it would have been a slightly higher percentage of the profits.

Regarding, forcing them to do work on Butter etc, I think it's complex...

The Grammys was a goal of course, but I also got the feel they wanted out of their contract with Sony Music after the crap way the promoed BE album in the US. My understanding of the contract is that Sony/HYBE had a yearly rolling contract, not it wouldn't surprise me if we learnt that perhaps the contract had a clause in it that meant that BTS had to fulfil some obligation (i.e. a certain number of songs/album each year) before ending the contract, and that's why they were forced to do Butter (with a co-writing credit from CEO of the US label) and PTD.

I felt that My Universe was a more favoured song by BTS, especially considering it was release on a different label.

That's how I saw it, anyway.

I wonder if BTS is being made to work more during this hiatus period than they thought and also not get the support they need to properly launch their solo efforts.

I think they worked as hard as they had in previous years. Remember, RM really felt that it was Butter and PTD that was the issue, so we could say that last year was the problem year, particularly between January and September.

I heard JK say in the Festa that some of the producers don’t have time for him.

Remember, up until 2019, BTS had access to a handful of producers to create their content, with all the new groups it's likely that those producers would

Do you think it’s in their best interest to stay with Hybe?

I think they'll set up their own label in partnership with HYBE, which would allow them more freedom and control.

Do you think they are even interested anymore in staying together as a band?

Yes, maybe more so, they just need to find themselves musically to make better music as a group.

Or are they headed for disbandment no matter what they said during Festa 2022?

No, I don't think so. I think we'll see them sort of become the Coldplay of K-Pop, they'll release an album roughly every 5 years and do a tour, then go back to solo work.

I do think though as they hit their 40s/50s, that could change. I think the pandemic has changed things and brought them closer than ever.

Back in 2018 it could have felt like they had to get on with it just to see out their contract, but now they way they're talking I don't think they'll disband. I think we'll see more independent work from them.

Also remember, BTS don't tend to lie, they might embellish a little where possible, but always speak their truth.

In a video from a few years back (maybe 2018), Tae says he wants to stay with the members for many years to come and continue to make music with them. Do you think that was just something he said in front of the cameras?

No, I think between their contract resigning and now, I think they've got closer by being apart (they've not lived together since 2019 despite what they say), and dealing with the pandemic and what it did to their careers. So I believe him when he says that.

Or have things changed so much since then that some of them want out of BTS by now?

No, but I do think Hobi, Suga and Tae if I'm being honest wanted to do more than just be a part of BTS. Other idols do it, have solo careers and then comeback to the band up until the member have had solo albums where they can make lots of money from or opportunities to solo tours/concerts. They're doing that now and by 2024 they'll be back together, most like with a contract renewal.

Remember, BTS it good for HYBE, they do whatever it takes to keep.

#my asks #bts #hybe

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jaybug-jabbers · 4 years ago

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Pokemon Gold/Silver Beta Pokemon: The April 2020 Leak

Look, 2020 was a rough year. So maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that the April 2020 Gold/Silver source code leak flew almost entirely under my radar. If you Google about it, you’re find it’s very rare for news outlets to cover it. This is probably because many folks are hesitant to cover leaks. Also, the US was warming up to a truly awful pandemic around that point, not to mention other civil unrest, so it’s no surprise some people were a tad distracted.

But the fact is, another leak turned up in April of last year, following a recent trend of huge Nintendo leaks. And this one was a doozy. I’ve only truly realized its full extent in the past few days. As such, I’d like to do a post that covers some of the new information. In particular, I’m focusing on beta pokemon that were cut or heavily reworked.

Now, back in 2018, the Spaceworld ‘97 Pokemon Gold/Silver Demo was leaked online. I made a post about some of my favorites. So, from this leak, we already knew of a while slew of beta pokemon. However, as it turns out, there were still more new faces to find-- and a lot of them! I list 45 new beta pokemon here, in fact!

In the April 2020 leak, several sprite sets were found as internal files, each at different phases of game production. The sprite sets were dated May 6, 1998, June 13, 1999, June 21, 1999, and September 17, 1999. The August 17, 1999 Spaceworld ‘99 Demo build was also found, so we have information on that as well.

Essentially, if you want to see this information at The Cutting Room Floor, then head to this page for the sprites discovered as internal backups/sprite banks. Head to this page for the Spaceworld ‘99 demo information page. And, if you need a refresher for the older leak, you can go to this page for the Spaceworld ‘97 demo build.

For this post, we will focus on the May 6, ‘98 set of sprites, which contain the vast majority of new faces. So, without further ado, onward to the pokemon!

(#300) Kokopelli Pokemon/Celebi

(May 6, ‘98) (Spaceworld ‘99 Demo)

This first pair of sprites looks very much like Kokopelli, a fertility deity of some Native American cultures. This deity can be seen in ancient Native American petroglyphs, as a humpbacked flute player with feathers on the head. Surprisingly, we find that Celebi in the Spaceworld ‘99 Demo seems to be an updated version of this design, making Celebi’s design origins much different than expected. However, its fertility diety inspiration is still somewhat apparant in the modern Celebi, as a creature that causes plant life to flourish.

(#301) Eel Pokemon

While the sprite files did not reveal a name or other data, this eel’s sprites were numbered right beside the Gurotesu (Grotess) and Ikari (Anchorage) sprites, suggesting it once was the start of their evolution chain.

(#304) Fire Fox Pokemon

This little fellow is a fox that seems to have a fiery tail. It’s possible this fire fox was inspired by kitsune (just as Vulpix/Ninetails were) and that it was later redesigned as Fennekin.

(#305 - 308) Snow Bunny Evolution Line

These four pokemon seem to belong to the same evolutionary line. The second one seems to based on the Yuki Usagi, a ‘Snow Bunny.’ In Japan, these cute little critters are made in the snow (using leaves for the ears). They also sometimes make these Yuki Usagi as little marshmallow or mochi treats. So this pokemon line could be inspired by either of these. Considering the leaves and the snow, I would guess these would have been Grass/Ice.

(#309) Elephant Pokemon

You might wonder if this chonky boy-- looking tough with horns on his head and back-- was an early version of Donphan, but Donphan and Phanpy were present in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo. Indeed, this elephant and Phanpy/Donphan both exist in the same set of sprites from May ‘98, so it was simply a case of two types of elephants. This pokemon also calls to mind a glimpse of a cut beta pokemon we saw from Generation 1 (from ‘Satoshi Tajiri: The Man Who Made Pokémon’):

Same fierce eyes, at any rate! Alas, these both never saw the light of day. However, it’s possible this elephant was reworked into Piloswine, which is not in the May ‘98 collection but does appear in the June 13 ‘99 collection (although Swinub is absent). While Piloswine and Swinub are more akin to wild boars, there is also some relation to mammoths (an inspiration more heavily leaned on with Mammoswine in later games). Then again, there’s another pokemon you’ll see a little further down this list that might have inspired Piloswine instead.

(#311) Natu/Xatu Mid-Evolution

What is clearly a mid-evolution (its file number sits between the two). Has a peacock-like tail. Honestly, I think this works really good as a mid-evolution, and I don’t know why it was cut. I want to name it “Watu.”

(#313) Drunk Kiwi Pokemon

This one is just hilarious to look at. It appears to probably be a kiwi-bird? A very crazy-eyed, loopy one. I can see why this one was cut. The goofy, simple design kind of looks like a knockoff cartoon character for children.

(#314) Scorpion Pokemon

A pretty badass-looking scorpion, although a rather basic design. I dig the funky head, though. It seems like it has a single, beady eye and is rather menacing. This pokemon may have been later reworked into Gligar, a pokemon that first appears after this sprite set, in the June 13 ‘99 group:

Admittedly this is rather different from the Gligar we know, but it is an early design.

Or, who knows-- maybe this little fellah was later reworked into Skorupi. (If so, it’s a shame, as I don’t dig the weird accordian-like design of its limbs and its evolution.)

(#315) Quail Pokemon

A pudgey little quail pokemon. Doesn’t seem related to the kiwi pokemon. It’s a very cute little thing, and has lots of potential to evolve into something interesting, but it seems they scrapped it pretty quickly.

(#316) Music Note Bird Pokemon

Although these sprites are numbered right after the quail, and they are both birds, the designs are very different, so they seem unrelated. It seems the beta pokemon were simply blessed with a lot of birds. This little bird is in the shape of a clef, giving this bird a musical theme. It seems very likely it was later reworked into Chatot, a bird with a music-note shaped head and metronome tail.

(#319) Boar Pokemon

A cute, grumpy little boar with antlers. Probably what eventually led to Piloswine found in the June 13 ‘99 group. A bit of a shame, in my mind, as I kind of prefer this design.

(#325) Spikey Dog Pokemon

The curious thing is that this dog looks very similar to “Pudi,” a pokemon we saw in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo, which was intended to be a pre-evolution of Growlithe. But Pudi is also in this same collection of sprites!

Perhaps they were toying with the idea of re-designing Pudi (and had already scrapped a bunch of baby pokemon) and just hadn’t bothered to remove the old Pudi yet. It’s hard to say. Ultimately, these both were scrapped, but at least we still have Subbull/Granbull.

(#331) Yūrei Ghost Pokemon

This little ghost has two things that are common in Japanese folklore: the hitaikakushi (the white cloth headband it wears) and the two little balls of fire called hitodama. It is unknown why this ghost pokemon was scrapped, but perhaps they thought the little fellow wouldn’t translate well overseas?

(#344) Viking Ship Pokemon

Look at this beauty! A pokemon based off some sort of Viking ship. I absolutely adore this one. It’s creative and charming. I hope to see it in the future.

(#349) Wooly Dog Pokemon

This canine-like creature is fluffy as all out. Honestly I think it’s a tad odd, with how tangled and disheveled its fur looks. I can’t help but compare it to the early desings of the three Legendary Beasts, since they also are very canine-like:

These three designs are present in this same May 6, 98′ sprite collection as the representations of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Were they possibly playing with a different design idea for the Legendary Beasts? Perhaps Suicune. The Wooly Dog is just such an imposing sprite, that I can’t help but wonder. All pure speculation, of course.

(#350) Rabbit Pokemon

This rabbit has a rather intense look about him, and it makes me curious what the ideas were behind it. TCRF suggests it’s a possible pikachu clone.

(#351) Snake Pokemon

This cute little worm or snake seems to be wearing a feather headdress, suggesting its design may also be Native American inspired, like the Natu line. On the other hand, this could be inspired by Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity in Aztec culture. I would have loved to see this little guy’s evolutions.

(#352) Scarecrow Bird

A bird with a hat that kind of looks like a scarecrow. Honestly, it’s a super-cute idea.

(#353) Gargoyle Pokemon

This crouching beastie sort of looks like a gargoyle with a long, sharp tail. I can’t quite tell if those bits on the side are little wings or just a part of its legs. It would be interesting to see this creature standing in a different position-- I feel like that would give us a better understanding of what it looks like. Interestingly, there are striking similarities with Aerodactyl:

I wonder why they are so similar?

(#354 - 356) Manbō Evolution Family

The first of these three fishies was someone we already met in the Spaceworld ‘97 demo-- it was named ‘Manbō 1.′ In the demo, it evolved into Ikari (Anchorage) and then Gurotesu (Grotess). It seems it’s now been split off from those and given a new evolution family here. While I find that neat, and I quite like the expressions on these fish, they are admittedly a little bland.

(#360) Flying Squirrel(?) Pokemon

TCRF guesses this is a flying squirrel, and it seems to be wearing a sheathed sword. Not sure about the headgear it’s sporting. Is that a ninja star?

(#364) Early Cyndaquil

So, this May 6, ‘98 collection is really exciting. The original Gold/Silver fire starter line we saw in Spaceworld ‘97 (Honooguma’s line) is still present in this collection (as is the water-type ‘Cruz’ line and Chikorita’s line). So, what we have here seems to be an early Cyndaquil before they decided to turn it into a fire type and make it the fire starter! In fact, those spikes might even be icicles (like Alolan Sandslash), for all we know. If so, Cyndaquil’s typing pulled a 180.

(#377) Early Furret?

Possibly an early Furret. Looks pretty awkward, not gonna lie; I’m glad it was probably refined into modern Furret, with more body definition between the head and tail.

(#378) Stork Pokemon

It’s a stork, based on the myth of where babies come from. A cute idea, although its curly ‘hair’ looks a little funny to me.

(#380) Squid Pokemon

A squid with drills for its mantle and arms. Since that’s kinda Beedrill’s thing, I’m glad they scrapped the idea. The backsprite lacks drills so it’s probably from a different design stage.

(#382 - 383) Early Burmy/Pineco

Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim is based off the bagworm. Bagworms are grubs that use silk and lots of bits of leaves, bark and other objects to create a camouflaged cocoon. When they turn into adults, some species of female bagworms just look like their larval stage, while the males turn into winged moths. That is why Burmy/Wormadam/Mothim have their unique evolution situation. Clearly, these two beta pokemon are playing around with the bagworm idea. They probably went on to inspire both Pineco (another pokemon based on bagworms!) and the Burmy line in gen 4.

(#386) Koala Pokemon

It’s so cool to see they were thinking about a koala pokemon this early. We would not finally get one until gen 7′s Komala.

(#387) Tanuki Pokemon

A Tanuki that is carrying campfire kindling on his back, but the kindling has caught fire. Apparently based on the Kachi-Kachi Yama folktale, which is a surprisingly violent story, but I suppose folktales often are. Who knows why it was cut, but Sentret is the closest thing we have to a tanuki pokemon for now.

(#392) Megaphone(?) Bird Pokemon

Yet another bird pokemon! There sure were a lot of beta birds. This one appears to have a megaphone-shaped beak. Or, possibly, its head is shaped like a gas mask (the strange eyes seem to support this idea). Honestly I really dig the look of this one.

(#397) Frog Pokemon

It’s tough to tell but it has a small horn on its head. It has a long tongue and is probably shouting “ribbithhhhhh!” It’s cute, but a little plain.

(#400) Tiny Hippo Pokemon

Look at this little weirdo. I think it’s a tiny hippo? With a mohawk and a big grin and wild eyes. It doesn’t really seem to have a head, its mouth/eyes/ears are just stuck directly to a body. Looks pretty awkward, probably needed some polish. No idea what they were going for with it, but it’s interesting.

(#401) Skeleton Pokemon

A very spooky, bipedal, living skeleton beast. It has a long snout and sharp teeth, almost like a crocodile or a dinosaur-like creature. Its head and shoulders have bony spikes and the front of its snout has markings that seem to be a nasal cavity. Very detailed. It also reminds me of Missingno, as some Missingno used the fossil skeletons as their front sprites. I would have loved to have this pokemon, and it’s a real shame they didn’t use it.

(#402) Rodent Pokemon

A mouse or bunny with gigantic, spotted ears and no arms. Those are some serious ears; it almost looks like it could fly with them.

(#403) Fly Pokemon

A bug-type!! It has a huge, creepy face, curly antenna and wings strangely really close to its head. I love it?? But it’s a bug, so of course I do.

(#404) Plant Pokemon

The Snow Bunny was likely part grass-type, but other than that, this is our first grass beta! It has one eye, a spikey head, and almost foot-like roots. I love how grumpy it looks. There’s a possibility it was a pre-evolution for Sunflora, before they had created the idea of Sunkern (which is not present in this collection).

(#405) Ant Pokemon

Another bug!! This one looks a lot like a winged ant. (Those do exist-- usually a temporary thing for mating flights) It’s possibly related to the fly pokemon above, sporting very similar wings. However, it doesn’t really seem like an evolution.

(#406) Dinosaur Pokemon

A little dinosaur-like pokemon, looking up at you. It’s unclear if that’s a tough, bony skull, or if it’s maybe a hat. The clubbed tail makes me wonder if it’s related to #415 below, but it’s probably unlikely. However, it is pretty likely that this later became Cranidos.

(#407) Early Cherrim

This clearly was a design that was picked up later, in gen 4, to create Cherubi/Cherrim’s sunshine form. I am glad the design was improved, because the lips on this one scare me.

(#412) Early Dunsparce

Dunsparce looking quite different. No wings, no drill tail, with a much more typical snake-like face.

(#415) Dinosaur Pokemon

It looks like an aquatic version of an Ankylosaurus or something similar. It’s possible it’s related to the Viking Ship pokemon (as a pre-evo), but there’s no way to know. I quite like it, though.

(#416) Flying Fish Pokemon

This magnificent beast, this miracle of creation, is surely my favorite beta pokemon of all time. Revel in its glory. You may not like it, but this is the ideal pokemon body. What a perfect way to round off our collection of betas.

#pokemon #pokemon gold/silver #beta pokemon #april 2020 leak #pokemon betas #pokemon beta content #mycontent #pokemon discussion

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winterrose527 · 4 years ago

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have you done an Ella - museum curator, Robb - investor on a tour work??

Ummmm no I had not! And wow was this one cathartic to write. It came out way longer than expected because this is a subject near and dear to my heart...

Thank you for this prompt!!

***

She was so sick of this shit.

Over a year of it. Ever since the governor’s order in April 2020. Back then she’d almost believed it was just a blip, a couple of weeks. A vacation, almost.

But then the ban on gatherings. The shutdowns. Finally the masks.

Every museum in the country had shut its doors along with libraries, movie theaters, and every other place desperate parents could take their children on a rainy Saturday.

Theirs had been luckier than most. An endowment a few years prior, which had been earmarked but not mandated for an expansion had been used to keep the lights on and the staff fed - literally. Their programming had gone virtual and understandably attendance had dropped but not entirely – thanks to a few local artists that had generously donated their time for a last minute plug.

Ever since restrictions had lifted, the crowds had returned somewhat. A rainy spring and summer had helped, but they were nowhere near their ‘pre-pandemic’ levels (and with the Delta variant on the rise she wasn’t super comfortable with the term ‘post-pandemic’ to describe their current state of affairs).

She wouldn’t say that today though.

No, today everything would be rosy – not just the botanical gardens that abutted the museum and had been started in 1853 – no, 1854.

Not that she imagined the potential donor would be fact checking her but nevertheless there was no room for error. She needed to represent the museum well. Her colleagues were counting on her – not to mention the collection itself depended on her.

The board had decided at its most recent meeting if they didn’t get an influx of donations within this quarter they were going to sell off a few pieces from the collection.

There was nothing sadder to a museum than deaccessioning. The staff all loved and protected the collection, and they truly felt the impact they and it had on the community. Myrcella loved to walk through the galleries on Thursday afternoons to see the regulars who’d come to visit the paintings like old friends of theirs, stopping by to say hello to a Baroque oil here or an Impressionist watercolor there.

So if schmoozing yet another prospective donor was what it took to mean that Mr. Poole’s favorite still-life stayed put for his bi-weekly Wednesday morning visit, then she would schmooze. She would schmooze Sansa Stark like her life depended on it.

She knew Sansa Stark sort of. It was the sort of thing where pre-pandemic they had run into each other at half a dozen events every year and always had a lovely chat and discussed getting together and then never did. The North was a small world and they ran in similar circles. But they weren’t friends.

Still, she was her best bet. From the wealthiest and most philanthropic family in the North, of course she was.

And she had to deliver.

The board had all made it clear that they expected results, and it had been suggested that really Myrcella Baratheon shouldn’t have such a hard time finding donors. But all her usual suspects had come to her with their own sob stories full of please tell me you won’t shut your doors but without any promise of relief, and the people she knew down south – the sort that profited from the world being in such dire straits had no interest in a little regional museum. No matter how much she marketed it as a hidden jewel.

To them, there was little worth in a jewel hidden, and they had no interest in having their act of charity buried under the northern snows.

So Sansa Stark was it.

She smoothed her dress, chosen carefully for the occasion. Sansa was always impeccably dressed and favored ladylike, tailored dresses for daytime, just as Myrcella did. Today, which had turned out to be a gorgeous one, she’d chosen a pale blue scallop trim knit dress, her grandmother’s wristwatch her only accessory. Feminine but appropriate. More comfortable than the clingier dresses she only ever so occasionally wore when taking around a male potential benefactor.

“Good luck,” Gilly, their glum registrar said as she raised her wrist to her nose to make sure she could still smell the scented oil she’d spread there that morning.

“Thanks baby,” Myrcella sighed, “Lunch from that naughty salad place when I’m done? My treat?”

Gilly smiled at that, “My treat if you get her.”

“Oh, now the stakes are really high,” she teased and blew Gilly a kiss and walked through the halls.

She felt eyes on her as she went. It was a small, tight-knit team, and it made it all the harder every time she received a sheepish regret. If she couldn’t succeed, one of them might lose their job if the board couldn’t decide what to sell. Even if they could, depending on how long this lasted.

Game face, Baratheon.

She took a deep breath and then smiled for fifteen seconds. She let it drop, knowing that it would still be in her eyes when she walked outside and it felt a little more genuine when her heels clacked along the gorgeous marble floor.

Walking over to the security desk, the smile reappeared on her face.

“Morning Roddy,” she grinned.

“Good morning to you Miss Myrcella,” Rodrick greeted her, “You see the game last night?”

“You’ve known me for four years,” she noted, “When in all of that time have I ever seen the game?”

He chuckled, “There was that one time in 2018.”

“Oh no, I totally lied about that,” she assured him, shrugging, “I wanted you to think I was cool.” She then looked around the empty lobby, “No Miss Stark?”

He grimaced, “Not yet. Traffic is back though, folks still aren’t used to it.”

She nodded, picking at a non-existent thread on her dress and looked around. Her eyes narrowed in on something and she crossed the lobby and picked up a tiny scrap of paper, crumbling it in her hand and then walking back over and tossing it in the trash behind Roddy’s desk.

“I’ve been sitting here for two hours, didn’t see it,” he noted.

She smiled, “Well you’ve been doing less important things like making sure no one robs the place.”

He opened his mouth to say something to her but then his gaze was directed behind her, “I’m sorry, sir, we don’t open until 11 o’clock on Tuesdays.”

“I sort of have an appointment,” the man said.

She knew that voice. She’d heard it before. In a coat closet at Alys Karstark’s birthday party. At the next table over at a charity even in 2019. Deep, stubbornly Northern, as unyielding as Valyrian steel.

She felt her palms sweat and forced herself not to rub them on her dress, rubbing them together instead and then turning around with a bright smile.

“You’re not Sansa Stark,” she greeted him.

He grinned sheepishly, though she wasn’t sure this man had ever had occasion to be sheepish in his entire life, “Afraid not. Myrcella, right? We met at that thing – that um… save the…whatsits.”

She giggled, and she heard the sound echoing garishly on the marble, “I believe that evening we were saving the seals. Or the… tulips, maybe.”

His smile spread slowly across his face, a dimple marking its end like an exclamation point, “Well we did our part even if we can’t remember what it was, I’m Robb Stark.”

She liked that he introduced himself. He’d done so every time they’d met, as though he in no way expected her to remember him. Sansa had done it the first five or so. Must have been how they were raised.

On the other hand, she’d been raised to act as though someone was foolish for not knowing who she was, introducing herself had been something she’d had to learn when she moved north, like parallel parking and salting her stoop.

Her hand extended and his met it, taking hers in his larger one and shaking it firmly as he looked her in the eyes briefly and then her lips slightly longer before purposefully going back to her eyes, “Myrcella Baratheon, and I remember you, Mr. Stark.”

“Well if that were true you’d remember I prefer Robb,” he noted, releasing her hand.

She shrugged, leaning forward conspiratorially, “Old habits. Can I get you something to drink before we begin our tour?”

“No thank you, I’m fine,” he shook his head.

She nodded, “Well it’s beautiful out now, why don’t we start in the botanical gardens. There’s been a bumper crop this year, we recently had the Cerwyn wedding here, did you attend?”

He fell into step next to her and said, “No, I didn’t. I was meant to but they reduced it to just family.”

She nodded, “Right, seems to be happening quite a bit. Will you do the same for your wedding?”

He stopped walking briefly and before she could stop too he had started again, “No… uh, rather than reduce the guest list we decided not to have it at all. We called the engagement off in January.”

“I’m so sorry!” she internally stabbed herself in the throat, “I didn’t know.”

He shrugged, “The nice thing about there not being any events over the past year is that the press didn’t really get wind of it.” Then stopped abruptly, “Not that… it’s not like that makes up for the past year or anything.”

She laughed, “Don’t worry, I know what you meant. I am sorry though, about your engagement.”

“As am I,” he agreed, “But it’s for the best. We parted as friends. Had we gotten married, I’m not sure we could have done so, so I’m grateful for that, and for her.”

A gentleman.

So many men played the part. Opening doors, buying flowers. So few of them realized that manners mattered very little when they were offered without grace.

“That’s lovely,” she noted, pleased for once not to have to lie.

It was a gorgeous day, a perfect seventy-nine degrees and clear blue skies. As though they’d understood the importance of the occasion, the Phlox stood proudly in battle formation and the scent of honeysuckle surrounded them.

“Sansa wanted me to apologize for missing your meeting,” Robb noted.

“I hope nothing’s the matter?” she asked.

A grin overtook his face, “No nothing at all. She’s in labor.”

She smiled, grabbing his forearm briefly. They both looked down at her hand on it and she pulled it back as gingerly as she could.

“That’s wonderful,” she told him, “Her second, right?”

He nodded, “A girl. And I’ve convinced her out of the name Corona.”

She chuckled, “Oh come now, you could call her Corrie for short.”

“And her parents idiots for long,” he noted. Then told her, “They weren’t really going to call her Corona.”

She smiled, “And here I was about to tip off the press…”

He smirked, “Narrow miss, then.” He looked around, “So. Flowers.”

“Not just flowers,” she pointed out, “We have a community garden to the left and down that lane local beekeepers keep their hives.”

“My mistake,” he allowed with a close-lipped smile.

That smile annoyed her. It was the same one she’d heard in the voice of every southern donor she’d called when they’d offered her good luck with her little country museum.

It was the smile someone gave her when she’d already lost.

“Perhaps we should go inside,” she noted, “I can show you our contemporary wing which we’ve recently devoted to elevating female and underrepresented artists. Or perhaps that’s a bit too avant-garde for you. Would you like to see our hall of armor and weaponry? I believe we have a few pieces that your ancestors left on one battlefield or another.”

“I’m sorry,” he noted, rubbing his jaw, “I told Sansa we should just cancel this meeting but she insisted.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Stark –“

“Robb,” he corrected her.

“No, I’m addressing Mr. Stark right now,” she argued, all of the frustration and helplessness of the past few months bubbling up inside of her, “May I ask what exactly it is about this that you find amusing? Is it the painting that we’re going to have to sell so that it can end up in someone’s climate controlled storage unit and never looked at again? Or is it the leaky roof? Perhaps the pay cut we asked all senior employees to take? Or how about the summer interns who had gone through a rigorous hiring process only to be told we couldn’t take them on at all? I certainly hope it’s not the seniors who used to come here for their Saturday afternoon watercolor classes which we had to cancel because we didn’t have anything to pay the instructor even though it would have been the perfect activity for them because it is outdoors and safe. Or maybe it’s the after-school programs you find so laughable…”

“I’m not laughing,” he pointed out. “But you’ll forgive me if I take your righteousness with a grain of salt.”

“I’m not sure that I will, actually,” she argued.

“No?” he asked, “Well let’s talk about those seniors? Don’t you think that funding is better spent ensuring they have free and safe access to the vaccination that can actually save their lives? Or what about those kids? Sure, the after-school program is great, but how about providing computers to allow them to do remote learning? Now I’m sorry if you have to lose one of a thousand paintings in this place, but if money can be better spent giving people what they really need then I’m sorry �� sell the damn thing.”

That was hard to argue with.

But not impossible.

“So you’ve drained your coffers?” she asked.

There was only room for one of them on the moral high ground and she’d always enjoyed the view.

His cheeks had turned blotchy in anger but they paled now, “Excuse me?”

“Are you in the red?” she asked, “Declaring bankruptcy? Let’s not go that far - Taking out loans? Leveraging assets?”

His jaw clenched, revealing a muscle in his left cheek that might have been attractive if she wasn’t about to rip his head off.

“No,” he noted, “But my family’s company and my family have given an exceptional amount this year already.”

“Well,” she pointed out, “It has been an exceptional year already.”

“Are you always this haughty with potential donors?” he asked, stepping ever so slightly closer to her.

A flash in her mind of his hand ghosting across the back of her neck as he secured her coat over her shoulders. That smell.

“Never,” she admitted, stepping ever so slightly towards him, “But you’re not a potential donor, are you? And tell me, is it really because you don’t think it’s worthwhile or because it doesn’t sound worthwhile?”

His face contorted in anger, “You think we’re giving so that people will write songs about us? We want this country back on its feet. We want to return to normal and if we can’t do that, we want to make sure to give people as comfortable an existence until it reverts on its own. Tell me, Miss Baratheon, can you actually find fault in that?”

She shook her head, “No, I can’t.” He looked surprised and she shrugged, “It’s a flawless argument. Just an incomplete one. Giving an exceptional amount right now isn’t enough. You have to give until it hurts, because you can. It is wonderful, exceptional, heroic, to be doing all that you have done so far. But what comes next? What comes after? What happens when the dust settles? When things open? When we get things under control? What happens when people are ready to return to what was before and none of it is left because it wasn’t deemed essential. Because it’s just flowers and amateur beekeepers and pretty watercolors? I understand that we are not on the top of the list and we shouldn’t be. But we should be on the list. We need to do more than survive, Robb. There are things apart from us that we need to endure. Things we need to protect.”

His mouth twitched at that.

“I’m sorry to say I don’t have time to see the armor,” he told her.

She felt the defeat trickle through her veins slowly.

She held out her hand, “Thank you for letting me rant at you.”

He shook it once again, narrowing his eyes at her, “Something tells me you’ve still got some left in the tank. I’d quite like to hear it. Have dinner with me tonight and convince me.”

It was happening to all of her girlfriends. After a year in isolation, their ability to detect a creep from a mile away had withered. She hadn’t thought that hers had too. He’d seemed like one of the good ones.

She pulled her hand away, “That’s not the way I do business, Mr. Stark.”

His eyes widened in horror, “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t get to make these decisions.”

“You’re the CEO,” she pointed out.

“Yes I am but Sansa insisted on inserting a clause into her contract that she gets final say over any philanthropic decisions,” he sighed, “I literally am not even allowed to choose the location of a book drive.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at that, a tiny bit of hope bubbling inside of her, “So when you said you should have cancelled the meeting…”

“It’s because Sansa’s already decided that we will be giving a donation, she wanted to discuss the structure of it with you – you know whether you’d prefer a lump sum, or whether you want it in increments, if you wanted it to be public to inspire other donors or whether you wanted it to be private so that they couldn’t use it as an excuse not to give…” he waved his hand, “She’s better at the specifics and I’m sure she’ll be calling you in between contractions to fine tune them.”

She laughed, “Please tell her not to. A pledge is more than enough to take to my board, we can map out the nitty gritty whenever she or whomever will be replacing her in the interim has time.”

He nodded, “You’ll have them within the week.”

She was about to thank him but the words caught in her mouth, “So wait a second… did you just wind me up for the sake of it?”

He grinned, a chuckle present in his voice though it hadn’t yet broken, “I’d like to point out that it took very little to wind you up.”

She laughed, because he was right and admitted, “It’s been a tough year.”

He nodded, “For everyone. So, now that you know I have absolutely no control and can hold absolutely nothing over you… have dinner with me.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I enjoy arguing with you,” he told her, then grinned sheepishly, “And because I lied. Sansa told me that I could cancel the meeting and I insisted on coming because I wanted to see you. The bad thing about this year is that there were no events where I could have a chance of bumping into you…”

“Oh that’s the bad thing about this year?” she asked.

“Well,” he grinned, then did a scarily good impression of her, “Maybe it shouldn’t be at the top of the list, but it should be on the list.”

#fanfiction #modern au #robbcella #fluff #prompt

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yessoupy · 5 years ago

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i think i have to unstan harry styles.

best weekend of my life (so far)

it's been a week [a fucking year] and I still haven't posted my review. at this point y'all know the show was awesome. hannah is posting her pics after a week straight of actually working (let's take up a collection to hire hannah to go to harry shows and produce exclusive content for us, what do you say?). after a week [a YEAR] away from the harrie commune all I can say is.... I don't know if I can continue on this way without it. i might have to stop altogether. [somehow, i’ve made due.]

after the last show of the 2018 tour I had such a fierce feeling that I'd missed out on something I would have really loved. there was nothing to do for it, since it was my sister's wedding day, so I moved on pretty quickly. but I also made the decision that for harry's next tour, I was going to go all out.

my dudes, what a way to ring in the new era. [and present me needs to interject here that i think i knew that something was going to go horribly wrong in 2020. even with tickets in hand to such faraway shows as phoenix, denver, and raleigh, i could NOT book flights or hotels as late as february. i knew about coronavirus in late december because i was traveling abroad and acutely aware of travel warnings about wuhan province. and in early february we had our mardi gras party and franny showed up kind of sick and i hugged her but cautiously, mentally cataloguing her symptoms. so when it finally happened i think i was just ... resigned. and that’s why i wasn’t as upset as i would have been if nothing had changed from the time i started writing this review.]

this kind of show always seemed like something that happened to other people. getting the actual tickets was rather stressful (though not as stressful an experience as others had...) but once everything shook itself out i couldn’t even think about the weekend or else I’d implode. thank god for @chasm2018‘s organizational abilities.

we missed a measles exposure at LAX by 2 days (bless). my first harrie commune™ experience of the weekend was riding the connections shuttle to pick up @papiermachecat at terminal 6 like she was a conquering hero (she is). we rode the connections shuttle to pick up @stylesinthewild and found a little table at starbucks in the baggage claim to wait for the bay area harries to arrive in their rented minivan full of goodies.

we piled in and hannah got us to our two hotel rooms, one with three queen beds, and somehow we got to the forum twice, once to buy pre-show merch and then the final time for the fine line show. we all dressed up and then took just ONE picture. one.

you know how the show went. i’m trying to cover ground that the squad hasn’t already posted [a YEAR AGO]

here is the note I DM'd to harry the next morning, which i think sums everything up nicely:

thank you for the show last night at the forum. I flew in from Houston and met up with friends from all over, only one of whom I'd gotten to hug in real life prior to yesterday. today we're sharing beds and toothpaste and fond memories. thank you for being you and bringing us all together. 💜

i don’t remember WHEN i sent it, maybe 3am, but later that day i took an uber to a vegan tattoo artist’s backyard studio to get a planned tattoo that @papiermachecat had sketched for me and my impulse tattoo of a fine line around my left wrist. while i was doing that, the squad finished up eating breakfast with other harries and then went to stand in the pop-up shop line.

you’ve heard the line stories. i fucking LOVE standing in a line for something because of the people you meet. in front of us we had a personal DJ who’d play what people wanted to hear and airdropped a picture of harry’s dick from WMYB. we’d break off in pairs to go to CVS or visit other people we knew in line. and this hasn’t been written about before, but one of those times hannah and i were walking around the block we saw some men standing by some cars near the entrance and we kind of stopped.... and i think at the same time realized who we were looking at ... and after looking around and realizing that no one else in the fucking line recognized jeff azoff hannah went in for the kill. we thanked him for taking such good care of harry, answered questions he had for us, thanked him again, i had the presence of mind at the end to tell him our names, and we took the pop-up shop merch menus that hadn’t been passed out to anyone yet, and then walked back to our spot in line silently, processing that moment. sometimes i’ll think about that conversation and get all warm and fuzzy thinking about that show and how well it went and how much LOVE there was for everything and harry and between all of us and it sustains me through a shitty, shitty pandemic day at work.

eventually we got through the line and got our merch and looked at all the things they had set up and after moving our reservation back we got to cafe habana to sit at a very familiar table and i took off my bandages to show my tattoos to everyone (to this day i regret not having the presence of mind to show jeff my brand new fine line tattoo, he would have loved it) and we ate and laughed and had the server take our picture and that’s probably what i miss most about the weekend, being in that place imbued with such silly meaning to us and all FEELING that gravity of where we were and being able to recognize it in each others’ eyes and smiles. perfect weather, amazing food, the best company.

the early morning saw our three queen room breaking up, and @papiermachecat left a single zyrtec in the middle of the room on the floor, bringing me to tears laughing even without her physical presence. @chasm2018 and i went to randy’s donuts (where we met up with @treatpeoplewithnice again) and GOD i want to eat donuts that good again.

it was sad to leave LA that afternoon, wearing my new tpwk oversized hoodie. it wasn’t the last time i was around a big crowd of people, wasn’t even the last concert i attended before all of this happened (that was in vienna on december 30), but it was the last time i was going to be full of unbridled joy. that weekend was the real ode to joy.

we’ll get back to it, it’s just going to take some time.

@stylesinthewild, @papiermachecat, @greeneyesharry & emily, @treatpeoplewithnice, @aggresivelyfriendly, and @chasm2018: fine line forum squad forever in my heart. that weekend will always be so special to me for so many reasons and it wouldn’t have been the same without each and every one of you.

@accidentalharrie and @styloff - ONE of these times we’ll be in the same place for long enough to do more than hug and grin at each other.

@ferryboatpeak and @ticklefighthockey - it was great to meet you! and la who would have thought then our next meeting would be in the backyard of an airbnb sitting six feet apart because we don’t want to spread a disease?

to harry, who isn’t reading this but i need all of you who ARE to know my heart ... thank you for bringing these people into my life. this experience of being your fan has changed me in such profound ways that there’s really no way to express it. it’s less about you and more about those who love you like i do, and i love them. and you.

to jeff, thank you for taking such good care of harry and having his best interests at heart.

to anne, thank you for raising such a good person and giving him to the world.

to camille, thank you for fine line. without you, that weekend doesn’t happen the way it did and i love that weekend.

#fine line live #one night only #my 'review' a year later

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citylightsbooks · 4 years ago

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5 Questions with Chet'la Sebree, Author of Field Study

Chet'la Sebree is the director of the Stadler Center for Poetry and Literary Arts at Bucknell University and the author of Mistress, winner of the 2018 New Issues Poetry Prize and nominated for a 2020 NAACP Image Award. Her poetry has appeared in the Kenyon Review, Guernica, Pleiades, and elsewhere.

Chet'la will be in conversation with Dantiel W. Moniz, discussing her new book Field Study (published by FSG) in our City Lights LIVE! discussion series on June 5th!

******

Where are you writing to us from?

From my birth month of May.

From the left side of a rented duplex in central PA.

From the third floor in a patterned, blue-velvet armchair across from my teal-painted desk.

And, because I didn’t finish this all at once, from the first floor enjoying the afternoon sun.

What’s kept you sane during the pandemic?

I want to be the kind of person who says exercise. I certainly spent some time on my mat and pounding the pavement, but it has really been food, wine, and fellowship that have held me together. These have always been the things that kept me sane. In grad school, I loved having people over for potluck dinners. But this sort of fellowship surrounding food took on new meaning in the pandemic. It wasn’t just that I learned how to make gluten-free pasta from scratch or placed orders for specialty wine shipments, but it was the sturdy calendar of happy hours and dinner dates kept me going. I did everything from virtual wine tastings to learning how to make injera with poet Diana Khoi Nguyen with home-ground teff to have boozy brunches and movie nights with friends from high school and college.

Right before the pandemic, I transitioned into a new job as a tenure-track professor and director of a university literary arts center and was traveling for my first book, Mistress, which meant sometimes I was in two different cities in one week, while also teaching classes and hosting events. This meant that I spent little time with my friends. Moving around less meant that I could not only reconnect but deepen relationships. Nearly every week since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been meeting with prose writers Dantiel W. Moniz and María Isabel Álvarez—both of whom I’d met at a writing residency in 2017. Our first Zoom was an attempt to heal the wound of not seeing each other at a March 2020 conference. What started as a conversation, led to salons, led to work sessions, led to us planning for our own future residencies. We’ve cried; we’ve rooted each other on; we’ve held each other accountable. They kept me going through the last rounds of writing and editing Field Study, and I can’t wait to talk to Dantiel about it on June 5th!

What books are you reading right now? Which books do you return to?

Right now, I’m primarily reading emails and my students’ final portfolios, but I’m so excited for the pleasure reading this summer will bring. When I can sneak a moment, though, I am toggling between three books: Felicia Zamora’s newest collection I Always Carry My Bones; Nana Nkweti’s brand neew Walking on Cowrie Shells; and Philip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife. That last one is a reread; I first read the His Dark Materials series in high school. I often return to books I read in those pre-college years—fantasy and sci-fi novels like Ender’s Game but also Toni Morison’s The Bluest Eye, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. I like thinking about who I’ve become since first reading them.

The book I would say I return to the most, however, is probably Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, or maybe even just specific essays in it: “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,” “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism,” and “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.”

Which writers, artists, and others influence your work in general, and this book, specifically?

I’m such a sponge, which is part of what made writing Field Study so fun. The patchwork style of quotes interwoven with my own language gave me a space to name names of those that influenced me. It gave me the chance to be in conversation with literary legends and thinkers like Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Maya Angelou, while also calling on my brother, best friend, and cousin for insight.

I’m inspired by visual artists like Georgia O’Keefe, Nekisha Durrett, Alison Saar, Carrie Mae Weems, Stephanie J. Williams, and Deborah Willis, but I’m also inspired by theatre, films, dance, television. Who knows what Field Study would be if it weren’t for the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People that came out in April 2020. I am an early-to-bed person, but I finished watching the series at around 11:45pm, got out of bed, and worked on Field Study until 7am. Then, I slept for four hours, got up, and worked for the rest of the day. In watching that well-orchestrated chaos and intimacy, I was taken back to my early twenties, on which Field Study is loosely based. That’s how I work—something gets me in my guts, as poet E.G. Asher would say, and I find my way into the work. It could be a good show, Max Richter’s recomposed Vivaldi, or a nice food and wine paring that gets me going.

I also wrote to an erratic playlist that’s also representative of the diversity of conversations in Field Study. The music included everything from Foo Fighters and Paramore to Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill to Henryk Górecki and Sol Rising.

If you opened a bookstore, where would it be located, what would it be called, and what would your bestseller be?

My bookstore, URGE, would double as an integrative wellness center with a mind / body / spirit focus. We’re talking incenses and essential oils along with your book of the month picks. There’d be two locations: one on Whidbey Island, where I finished my first book Mistress, and laid the groundwork for Field Study; and the other in DC, which still calls to me even though I moved from the city seven years ago.

My bestsellers would be a tie between anything Audre Lorde (probably not surprising) and anything Bob’s Burgers-related, since my inner circle would know I got the name of the bookstore from the show’s Season 11’s Valentine’s episode: “Romancing the Beef.”

#chet'la sebree #field study #5 questions #city lights live #author interviews #poets

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bisexualhobi · 4 years ago

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wait I think I agree not today is really bad but now rank all their title tracks from best to worst pls

lmaoohdksjjdjf i love this question so much anon but due to the fact that i’m me this would get way WAY too long. so i’m doing the top 5 best title tracks and then top 5 worst ones okay? i’m looking at google and apparently they have 26 korean singles so yeah that’s too much.

to rank them as objectively as possible I'm gonna try to take into account gp impact (which is not the same as chart impact since the fandom inflates those numbers), production, creative value (how innovative/different from other pop songs was it?) and the concept of the music video/aesthetic in general.

BTS TITLE TRACKS: TOP 5

5. Black Swan (2020)

am I cheating by putting here a pre release single? maybe. but it would be a disservice to leave this one out so bear with me

⭐gp impact: this song made more noise as a pre release single than the title track. I saw it in at least 3 end of the year editorials for best kpop songs of 2020. and the thing is it could have been WAY bigger but a lot of stuff happened that sadly made it go away too soon. I don't think this one is as famous or recognizable as the others in this list which is why it's going last, but also I think this song is the most underrated gem in bts discography so it's still going here.

⭐production: this song beat out the front runners (I need u, save me, DNA) solely because of its production. there are not a lot of kpop songs out there that manage to pull off what this song does. it's powerful, it's nostalgic, it's a dark and sexy song without being too on the nose. the mixing is SUPERB I remember the first time I heard it I thought "this would blow the fuck up if it was a Travis Scott song" and I will DIE on that hill. this is an example of heavy autotune on a song done right, not like the rest of their super autotuned songs that sometimes come out unrecognizable and empty sounding.

⭐creative value: it's not truly a new concept in pop to make a song about the Death of the Artist. it’s also not something a rookie group can do, this song needed to be released at exactly the time in bts’ career that it was. there’s just no emotional impact if you just sing about how the music makes your hear beat and you’ve been in the industry for,,, 3 years. this is the type of Swan Song you release at the peak of your career, so that really contributes to the message. mixing a trap beat with a ballet motif is GALAXY BRAIN SHIT.

⭐️concept: the ballet influence is just beautifully executed, this song is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship on all fronts. i think they could literally build an entire ALBUM off this concept, so the fact that they jampacked it onto one single song is both amazing and a little sad for me. i wanna hear more of this. i want a literal Black Swan (the darren aranofsky movie) horror concept where the protagonist falls prey to his own madness because he strives for perfection. but yeah, the song itself and the orchestral version just make this a complete golden concept in my book.

4. IDOL (2018).

⭐️gp impact: i think a lot of people that didn’t know anything about kpop vaguely knew about this song when it was released. i know i wasn’t into kpop at all but in my pop culture circle there was a small bleep from this song bc of the concept and the dance. i think it’s a great “embassador of kpop” track, like if you wanna explain to someone with no previous knowledge what kpop is about you can show them a performance of this song.

⭐️production: the production is a little all over the place for me. the instrumentals are amazing and really creative tho, but like in terms of mixing vocals and the structure of it, it might be a little too grating. it’s not the best produced song in ly: answer by any means but it still makes it work

⭐️creative value: the whole hanbok thing is a 10/10. bts weren’t the first ones to do it, but they did it in such a tightly executed way that honestly that “classic korean roots meets the edgy western feel” concept belongs to them now. groups are still recreating it. it’s a really innovative concept in general.

⭐️concept: the music video is,,,, something. you might love it or hate it, but it’s memorable. i think the purposeful way in which they made it as loud and brilliant as possible can be taken either as a camp adjacent or just as the group going nuts with the budget, which props to them. the choreography is also a BIG plus. the south african influence is really well executed and they made sure to do it as cultural appreciation and not appropriation. definitely the most memorable thing from this song is the choreo

3. Run (2015).

⭐️gp impact: this was their second song to have a music show win. it was the lead single from hyyh pt2 and honestly it might be the best song off hyyh as a whole. it cemented bts as not just another kpop group, because it made non fans turn their heads too! from what i gather this really propelled them forward and made the fanbase grow a lot.

⭐️production: hyyh pt2 is super well produced. i feel like this song in particular makes a fine job of mixing the vocals but it’s not outstanding. the best part is the instrumentals. but overall it’s a really good song with amazing lyrics and a great melody.

⭐️creative value: this built off of what they did with pt1 so they were already in a comfortable place, when they found this sound they really explored it well and deep and it works! i’m glad they went this emo pop route because it was a good contrast to what was dominating the charts in kpop in 2015.

⭐️concept: the aesthetic is PERFECT. there’s not a single other thing that i could add or that i wanted gone. it’s the perfect mix of coming of age teen film and heartfelt, dreamy pop. the music video is by no surprises the favorite mv of a lot of the fandom. the cinematography is beautiful and the song and the video perfectly capture that fleeting moment in life when you’re in the brink of adulthood.

2. Mic Drop (2017).

⭐️gp impact: this song was the first bts song to chart on the billboard hot100. back when the fandom had no idea how to chart, mass buy etc. that’s enough said. (personally i think mic drop is the quintessential bts song and their best release so the fact that i’m not putting it first should count as something).

⭐️production: for the purposes of this ranking i’m using the original mic drop and not the steve aoki remix even tho it was the steve remix that was released as the single. the song has the BEST mastering i’ve heard in kpop. the transitions are flawless, the beat is pure fire, the entire first minute is literally the hardest hype rap i’ve heard in kpop. everything about it WORKS.

⭐️creative value: it’s kinda funny how this song got released the same year as kendrick lamar’s humble, because imho it’s the best hiphop song of that year after humble. 2017 was truly the year of the diss tracks. bonus points for including it right after the billboard acceptance speech skit in ly: answer. SUPER refreshing among the ed sheeran type of pop that dominated that year.

⭐️concept: it’s a great concept but not innovative by any means. still, it works and bts managed to exploit it to the max. the choreo, the mv, the styling, everything was amazing!

1. Blood, Sweat & Tears (2016).

⭐️gp impact: it's probably the first song to put bts on the map beyond the kpop sphere. it really set the tone for their 2017. it's one of their most famous and recognizable songs to date.

⭐️production: this song is STUNNINGLY arranged. the mix, the ambience, the progression,,, it's all brought together to make a very well crafted song. it has a distinctive electronic/pop sound to it that still manages to set itself apart from the trend that was going at the time. black swan is probably the closet single they have to this in terms of production.

⭐️creative value: the song itself is very in compliance with the 2015/2016 trend of hype songs with edm influence, (ie. closer, shape of you, cheap thrills, let me love you, something just like this, etc.) but it still packs that punch that makes it sound fresh even for 2021.

⭐️concept: it wasn't the first song to sound like this in kpop ofc but it was the first truly sexy concept for bts. the aesthetic is innovative and very well thought out, the mv is amazing and the choreography too. i read somewhere that j-hope had a lot of input for this choreo so that's amazing. also blond taehyung is literally the best thing to come out of big hit.

WORST BTS TITLE TRACKS

ok so here we go with the worst ones! this is in ascending order as i prepare myself to pick the worst of them all, but please remember this isn’t meant to be mean spirited, i am simply applying the same criteria to their most underwhelming songs but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own merit! it’s just that out of 26 singles, SOME of them have got to come out at the bottom right?

5. Life Goes On (2020)

⭐gp impact: this song is not memorable with the general public, its #1 on the bb was the product of mass buying and even though it's a feel good song made to comfort fans in the times of pandemic it's still bland and boring. I think it had no music show appearances either, and as far as bts ballads go this is just bottom tier. it’s not that it’s terrible, it’s just very underwhelming

⭐production: the autotune in this song is very poorly executed, it doesn't add to the song the way black swan does for example. it's just off putting and the melody is really forgettable. it's funny bc the chorus is directly pulled from the 2018 reggaeton super hit "La Canción" by J Balvin and Bad bunny lmaooo 💀 so I can't get that out of my head either. the structure is just fine and has nothing of substance

⭐creative value: the song is attempts to be a heartfelt acoustic song but it really has nothing that sets it apart from other songs product of the pandemic like Justin and ariana's stuck with u. for a song in a self produced album it's the song with the least input from the group. the lyrics are good, but they're not as sincere or groundbreaking as for example Spring day.

⭐concept: as a ballad ofc I'm not expecting it to have a grand choreography, and the mv being filmed in their personal dorms to reflect the lockdown is actually a nice touch but besides that there is nothing exciting, innovative or even sincerely comforting about the song and the concept. the greatest thing abt it is the fact that jk directed the video, which is actually pretty good.

4. We are bulletproof pt 2 (2013)

⭐gp impact: this song made no noise back in the day and to this day its just beloved by the fandom due to a sense of nostalgia and "remembering bts' roots". don't get me wrong it's amazing that bts still perform it in the year of our lord 2020 because you can't forget where you came from, but it's not a good or memorable song by any means.

⭐production: I went back to listen to it for this and oh god. I can't remember the mixing being THIS bad. jimin, jin and taehyung sound exceptionally bad, they don't sound like themselves especially jin. it's just a really poorly mastered song, but then again the rest of their debut album isn't far better.

⭐creative value: this is straight up ripping off early 2000s black culture from the US. not only the music, the styling for this era in general is unfortunately really bad and culturally appropriating and overall it's a mess.

⭐concept: there is nothing of substance to be said about this song. it's just really a miss. the mv is terrible, the only thing that can be salvaged from this is the choreography, but besides that the whole thing feels sloppy, rushed and is also kinda cringey.

3. N.O. (2013)

⭐gp impact: no noise. this song was just a really weird pick for their first comeback when attack on bangtan or coffee was right there. not to be mean but no wonder they didn't have a music win this year.

⭐production: it's an objectively bad song. it's just really underwhelming, the whole mixing feels amateur. it's not a good hiphop song and it's not a good vocal arrangement and the chorus is also a rip off of a late 90s American song I can't find right now

⭐creative value: this song isn't innovative in any way, it's just..... there. very meh in general, I have nothing more to say about it

⭐concept: the storyline kinda wants to go somewhere with the music video but it doesn't manage to make a connection. the styling is plain, simple and not flattering at all. it tries to make a protest of the Korean school system but it doesn't say anything beyond "school bad" which we already knew

2. Not Today (2017)

⭐gp impact: its a very middle of the list song for a lot of the fandom. I literally know of no one that claims this as their favorite mv/era/song. when you ask people about their least favorite bts songs they won't mention this one either, you know why? because it's that irrelevant. it had no music show wins either. it's precisely because of this why I put it so high up on the list. there's nothing worse than an unmemorable song, if it was widely hated then at least that would be a response.

⭐production: it's a really mediocre song in terms of structure and melody. it tried to be hype but it falls short. the chorus feels half finished and the message of the song is just “the revolution has begun”? which okay? but it adds nothing to the You never walk alone album either.

⭐creative value: there is nothing exciting about this song, and the chorus is too grating. the rhythm is repetitive and nothing new either in kpop or pop in general.

⭐concept: sadly there's not a lot to be said for the song. it says nothing of value and what it says falls flat. there's no innovation. you can actually see a lot of idol in this song, and also ON. those two songs are what this one tried to be but failed.

1. War of Hormone (2014)

⭐gp impact: thankfully none. this song got the treatment it deserved, if they had won a music show for this one it would feel tainted lol. now it's just a meme in the fandom but overall it made zero noise and contributed nothing to bts' evolution

⭐production: the production is very lazy, which is odd because dark & wild has some pretty tight tracks. but this one is just meh, nothing outstanding and the melody is just annoying

⭐creative value: this is a song that was probably born out of the desperation to have a gp friendly hit. it tries really hard to replicate an outdated idea of what boy bands should be, and it does it badly. simply put this song is very mediocre and misogynistic and the fact that it's a running gag in the fandom that "feminism isn't important when war of hormone comes on" isn't funny and it's actually cringe. please stop

⭐concept: the styling is so ugly :( the mv is very low budget which isn't surprising but they managed to make more with less in past releases. it's just embarrassing and I wish this song didn't exist, there's a reason why they never play it anymore lol. overall a dark mistake in bts' career

#asks #long post//#song analysis #bts

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residentlesbrarian · 4 years ago

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Fandom and Fanfiction Galore

Ship It by Britta Lundin

Aaaaaalrighty...so this was written almost 3 years ago hot out of ClexaCon 2018 and it is...an interesting one. I had and still very much have feelings about this book. Would I write my thoughts the exact same way today as I did back then...probably not! So enjoy this bit of a pre-pandemic pre-a-whole-bunch-of-other-personal-stuff-y’all-don’t-need-to-know-about me talking about a book I still don’t really know how I feel about! Enjoy!

This was another book I found because of the Queering YA panel at ClexaCon 2018. Being able to talk to Britta at the booth after the panel was awesome, because you could tell talking with her that she was a true fan. She knew what being surrounded by fandom was like and it made me pretty excited to read the book.

Unicorn Rating:

Blurb: Living in the environment of fandom can be an insane experience in both good and bad ways. This book delivered a unique experience and look into fandom culture that was surreal to read about outside of fanfiction and tumblr.

Disclaimer: I will try my best to not spoil anything from the book, but my book loving rambles may give more away than a traditional review. Here we go! Ramble time!

Review:

I would say overall this book felt a little weird for me. I didn’t absolutely love it but I also didn’t particularly dislike it. It fell in a very ‘meh’ place for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have good things to say about it, they are just slightly confusing things.

The plot was actually one of the things I liked the most about it. Even though it was a crazy unrealistic plot, it helped capture the absolute lunacy of being a member of fandom culture perfectly. Sometimes being a fan is a simple life of surfing Tumblr and liking posts but sometimes the craziest things happen and change your life forever. In this case the reader is swept up in this craziness with Claire and the unrealistic aspect of it all made it feel more realistic as counterintuitive as that sounds. That is what the fandom experience can feel like at times, everything makes so little sense it actually circles back around to making sense, but enough about that...time for some character rambles.

Now we have two perspectives explored in this book. That of Claire, the fangirl, and Forest, the actor who has never had to deal with fangirls before. Let’s start with Claire. I am of two minds on her. Part of me really doesn’t like her, mostly because she is a person that in real life I probably wouldn’t spend time around and, as I’ve stated in a previous review, I have a hard time separating myself from characters and remembering that they are only teenagers. Multiple times I actually physically facepalmed, while reading a hardback book! That isn’t easy to do, but I did it, because she was doing things that just seemed so illogical from my perspective. But I am an adult, so of course I have a completely different perspective than a teen who is away from home and feeling a little out of control for a plethora of reasons. Now the other part of me really liked her, strangely enough for those exact same reasons, she was so real that I went full ‘Mom’ mode and wanted to sit her down and have a talk about what she was going through before she did something she was going to regret. Even if I found the character to be unlikeable the fact I was still on her side and wanted to help her really shows the depth that was written into her.

Now moving on to Forest. Oh, Forest. He was a character that I was very intrigued by at first because his was a perspective I, as a fangirl myself, had never seen in a book before, but damn if he didn’t make it so hard to like him. Some of the things he said and did made me want to throttle him. I could excuse some of the stuff Clarie did because of her age and the craziness of everything going on around her, but Forest is an adult and should know better. He would improve and his actions would start to win me over, but then he would overreact to something and make me want to put on my throttlin’ gloves again. I felt like that Tyra Banks ‘I was rooting for you!’ reaction gif while I was reading this multiple times. Again, though, there were parts that I was glad Forest called Claire out on her actions when it was called for, but overall they both needed an intervention to have them sit down and just chill for five seconds.

I actually genuinely liked a majority of the side characters in this as well. I actually have less of the weird mental confusion when it comes to the side characters. Rico was cute and great around the fans. Jamie was a total asshat but he was written to be that way to foil Claire in her mission to make ‘Smokeheart’ cannon. One of my favorite scenes in the whole book was actually between Claire and the social media consultant, whose name I totally remember and am just choosing not to put in because I think that’ll be all avant garde...okay fine I forgot her name and I am not digging the book out to find it. Anyway...I can’t really go into detail about the scene because, you know, spoilers but it was so well done in the context of the story.

Now for the last big character I want to speak on, the love interest, Tess. Now I really liked Tess and even understood how she wanted to keep her nerdy hobbies a secret from her small town friends. I was lucky that I grew up in a family and a circle of friends that let me embrace my passions no matter how off-the-wall they may seem to others. Tess obviously didn’t have that kind of support but she was still so passionate just privately. I will say though, ironically given the title of the book, I don’t ship it. Tess and Claire definitely share an instant attraction and the chemistry is there but they have so much growing to do before they are anywhere close to having an actual healthy functional relationship. Maybe if we saw more of them it would feel more compelling but it just wasn’t for me.

So my final thoughts on this book are just...a little discombobulated. Part of me was really happy to read a book that portrayed a part of my life that is so hard to put into words at times. I have never been a rabid fangirl, but after Lexa’s death I had to try and explain my utter devastation to people who just didn’t understand why a fictional character mattered to me so much. This book captures at least a layer of the fandom experience in a way that I’ve never seen before. The problem I have in the end though is how problematic everything that happens was, and then the ending just felt so sudden. We didn’t see any of the characters address their issues on the page. I hope this review made some coherent sense, because this book still doesn’t really make sense even in my brain, but I need to wrap this up now.

Queer Wrap-up: Okay, so, for our rep we have a questioning main character who definitely has some queer tendencies, but overall her realizing her feelings took such a back seat to her mission to make a fictional ship cannon on a show that was already filmed it took away from the rep as a whole. It just felt like the focus was so split that the actual rep gets lost in the pages. There is no argument by the end of the book that Claire is queer, which earns the three unicorns on that alone, but some of the tropes that played parts in the book were just so cringey that I couldn’t rationalize giving it more than that. Even with a couple side characters who were revealed to also be queer they weren’t enough to cover for the less stellar parts of this book.

Links:

Britta Lundin’s Website

TheStorygraph

Amazon

Okay, so if you couldn’t tell by that train wreck of a review this book just confused me. It kept me just interested enough to pick it back up after I’d put it down, but also wasn’t that bad. It lives in a weird oxymoronic vortex in my brain that honestly gives me a headache if I focus on it too much. There were aspects of this book that I did genuinely like but it all gets swirled together with the parts that made me put it down and need to take a break. If any of you want to discuss those more spoiler-filled aspects please send an ask and I’ll welcome you into the cyclical nature of whatever this book is doing in my brain. And as always if you want to read this but don’t want to spend the money without knowing for sure you are going to like it, go to your local library. You’d be surprised what they have on their shelves just waiting to be discovered. Trust me, I’m a lesbrarian.

#ship it #britta lundin #queer girl #ya fiction #resident lesbrarian #this whole thing is a bit of a time capsule #i wrote this soooo long ago #man weird #still agree with it though

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popculturebuffet · 5 years ago

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Loud House Reviews: The Loudest Thanksgiving

It’s almost Thanksgiving! And a vastly diffrent one than in recent memory: Most of us are slimming down family gatherings to just whose in our house, you know because theirs a pandemic going on and it’s not worth risking your life for it. To those either guilting their families into it or doing so because MAGa or some such I only have this to say.

Speaking of Black Friday i’ts spread over a week and it’s cyber deals mean I got a ton of graphic novels for a dollar a piece and my christmas shopping almost done. So in other words, boo Maga, yay safe and responsible captalisim. But while the holiday may be diffrent, as well as the pseudo holiday attached that spawned a wonderful musical and many many injuries, one thing stays the same; Holiday Episodes. And despite being the less popular of the three holidays, Thanksgiving still produced tons of great holiday episodes and specials. And with everything being so busy I simply didn’t put too much thought into what to do for Turkey Day.. well okay the day proper i’m going to eat, spend time with family and watch a bunch of mystery science theater 3000, stay the course even in these troubling times, just with only the 4 other people who live in my house. But in terms of episodes I thought i had nothing.. then I started actually thinking on it and what do you know I have three things I want to do for the holiday, though one might wait till next year, and possibly a fourth. But given my workload currently, i’m not one to back away from a challenge, so welcome to a three or four course meal of reviews. First course: The Loud House thanksgiving special, the loudest thanksgiving. I originally wasn’t going to do this one, mostly because due to my large workload and constant battle with procastination, I keep having to push back the latest episode review, and I have to do that one soon, as there’s a new episode in december and a christmas episode i’ve put off watching for far too long , as I INTENDED to watch eleven louds a leapin for every chirstmas up till now and never got to it before the season was over. But just like elven louds.. Nick forced my hand.. and by that I mean the SPINOFF got a thanksgiving episode that’s also a sequel in some fashion to this episode. If I wanted to cover that episode this thanksgiving or the next I had to at least watch the original. And frankly, this close to the holiday there was no reason not to review it. So with that out of the way.

Let’s Get At Er. This is The Loudest Thanksgiving... after the break

The Loudest Thanksgiving takes place during season 3, and still pre-casagrandes spinoff launch despite the christmas special taking place earlier. This is actually easy to explain: The Loud House runs on Comic Strip time... i.e. the characters don’t age unless the writers decide they do. But while the spinoff was in motion at this point, it was still a season off airing wise, and ill advised raitings stunt mini series wise, so in order to keep the Casagrandes fresh in people’s minds presumably, they did a crossover that at this point wasn’t a crossover but now technically is because the show exists but this existed before the show.

It’s just a show, and I should really just relax. Point is this is a pre-crossover crossover, the two families meet for the first time, the man already said pitter patter, let’s get back at er. So we open with Flip serving as our magical snowman narrator and regaling us with the tale of steven. Every compastionate can you imagine it... and i’m fucking with you, it’s of course abotu that time the louds and the casagrandes tried having thanksgiving together.

We then cut to Lori and Bobby being all cute, as usual, and both talking over the phone as each show off their thanksgivings to each other and the enusing family shenanigans. On Lori’s side Lynn is wearing baggy pants so she dosen’t miss the game or the meal by going to the bathroom.. because that’s how pissing yourself works. Look if your going to do something that gross, stupid and broish just woman up and wear an adult diaper. The twins are guarding Lynn sr and the food, poorly, and Lisa has invented a Gravy Squriting robot. I can only see this ending one way.

Yeah those single function robots really get useless once the exestnetial crisis kicks in.

On the casagrandes side, Rosa is likewise guarding her kitchen, Frida is painting and Hector plans to sernade eveyrone because Hector is the best and you all should know that. Even with the recent Bobby Abuse he’s still awesome. As for the Mercado, CJ and Ronnie Anne are running the annual canned food drive because CJ is better than the best and should really be used more often. Both wish they could be there.. and both honestly talk about possibly spending thanksgiving with each other and just one of their family. It’s not a wild proposition: Both are going to college soon, both are in a longterm relationship.. they plan to get married down the line for now. If things hold they will eventually have to figure this out. Of course rather than fate let them figure this out themselves, Hector overhears on Bobby’s end and Lincoln, whose busy A Clock Work Oranging himself so he can stay awake during dinner, overhears on Loris, leading to an emergency family meeting for both sides. Both families are worried their prospective teenager going to another house of their longterm significant other for one year will mean they get all the holidays. Having never had a relationship last long enough to worry about this, I don’t quite get it as in my experince watching couples juggle this.. they usually just alternate years, spoilers the solution the episode goes with, or trade off christmas and thanksgiving, both fair solutions. Buuut as much as this bothered me at first the more I thought about it the more it actually made sense: People.. aren’t always rational and won’t always do the smart or correct thing, especially when it comes to their children. And with Lori leaving college and the casagrandes being togehter for thanksgiving for the first time in about 5 years, with both ronnie anne and her mom not having had a proper one in some time due to her mom needing to work thanksgiving, presumibly because of the eternal curse of gravy chugging contests, they have valid emotional reasons to go a bit nuts and do some irrational and assholish things. They just don’t want to loose their big sister and big brother, and that’s fair. It may not be at all accurate but it’s fair.

So thus began the great Guilt Off of 2018. ON the Loud side they START with a fairly soft pitch, the twins simply offer her food early, and she takes it because honestly I would too. Then again, i’d also take free food in just about any situation, so i’m not really a good gage for this. As long as it’s not poision i’ll probably eat it if it’s free. The next two are a little.. less subtle, with the kids talking about Lori’s roll in the annual thanksgiving skit.. which I’m assuming is soley for Lynn Sr. as no one else seems to be going to their thanksgiving. Which granted theirs valid explinations for why their neighbors didn’t go, the mcbrides and mr grouse have their own families and while Mr Grouse rarely gets to see his, he now has neighborly friends after the last holiday special happy to help. But Pop Pop.. makes no sense as his girlfriend, the only plausable reason he wouldn’t be there, was said to not have much family in her debut. So he’s just.. absent from thanksgiving for no reason. Thena gain we later find out this play is movie length, so maybe he was just trying to escape that which in that case, who can blame him. Rita almost reigns things back in with the mother’s trump card: parental guilt. Almost. She then almost crushes lori’s hand but it’s funny enough. At the Casagrandes, their opening move is largely the same only Rosa wins in terms of execution, cooking up some of bobby’s faviorites to specificially target him. Frida paints him into a painting, again the Casagrandes win his one in terms of effort. They do tie in the last bit, as Maria and Ronnie Anne try the same sort of guilt slining with the same bone crushing. Eventually both teens get fed up with the next bit; For Lori, Lucy gives her a long overdramatic poem about an empty chair which is easily tied with one bit later for best bit of hte episode.. which granted when I can only think of two or three gags that really made me laugh...

Bobby likewise gets Hector telling the story about a realitvie not going to thanksgiving. Both get angry.. which for Lori, isn’t all that suprising, if entirely warranted. For Bobby though? It’s like pissing off a dolphin. IT’s hard to do and very much not something you want to actually pull of. Both families are forced to admit they eavesdropped, and are incredibly worried about this whole situation, with Lynn Sr selling lincoln up the river for telling them... this man’s capacity for selling out his children is as awe insprising as it is truly pathetic.

So the two teens go back to their rooms to figure something out and come upon a reasonable solution: just have one of the families host and both come to it. That’s more than fair. But given we still have a full special to pad out, both families are still treating this like a competion: while the louds win the coin toss, both sides are determined to win thanksgiving. IT’s far from the most insane contest i’ve seen this month, x of swords was happening and i’ve seen a russian yank a goblin out of the demonic alligator skin he was using as a puppet. And we don’t know for sure Arrakoa and Krakoa didn’t have a trial over a baby turkey being adorable as one of the challenges. Other challenges included getting drunk, an eating contest, telling someone to murder a kitten and a wedding, all of this is actual stuff that happened in this recent crossover, I have made up nothing.

So after the break and Flip realizing oh shit the audience is back, the war begins. The Louds are preparing for war, with Lola putting out a picture of herself instead of bobby and laurie because of course.. still not a half bad gag. The Casagrandes arrive and in in a passive agressive move that was already done a year before this special by Brooklyn Nine Nine and better, brought their own food.. though the roast pig is a nice and unique touch. Points for that. And this.. is where the special gets tedious. Yeah while the IDEA of this episode was really good and I was excited to cover it in practice it’s just similar gags on both sides done for both halves: The first being “let’s guilt them into staying” and the second being “Let’s one up each other” with only two bits really working: Frieda having a painting and the louds annual skit. And the skit is because it raises a LOT of questions: Why is it 90 minutes, who played the adorable turkey in the years between babies? Was it just whoever was youngest? Who wrote this? Who is this for besides Lynn Sr and Pop Pop? Who all has sat through this thing at some point? Is that why the mcbrides don’t come over for thanksgiving? It’s just.. fantastic is what i’m saying.

But otherwise this part is just the family trying to one up each other with food, or toasts, or song, before devolving into a big fight. What makes it not work is.. there isn’t a lot of personality there. You have these two big, plentiful, intresting casts, even at this stage with the Casagrandes far less established and fleshed out. And instead of finding interesting ways for them to play off one another meeting for the first time, and to use that to also flesh the characters out more for the inevitable spinoff, it’s just

For most of the second half. Thankfully it DOES manage to bring things around as after things degenerate into a food fight, the families decide to just ASK the two of them where they want to go.. and find them entirely missing. It then turns out, in a nice twist, this is where Flip came in. Since his place is the only place open 24/7 and 365, barring fishing season, Bobby and Lori fled here to flee their insane families.. who then follow them there because Carlos and Lisa have them chipped. I was suprised at first Carlos had a tracker on bobby but honestly, i’ts just common sense. The man is like a golden retriver in a man’s body. Here’s an artists interpretation

Both families breifly bicker before Lori and Bobby announce their starting their own family thankgiving with blackjack, and hookers. They really shouldn’t of let Flip in on the brainstorming session. Both families don’t want that, and apologize, admitting they just didn’t want to loose them and both genuinely offering to let the other have them next year. Flip, who despite having a “pay for my colonoscopy jar” with a picture of his ass on it, is somehow the voice of reason and just suggests trading thanksgivings every year, everyone accepts, and we do get a genuinely heartwarming ending of both sides gathering everything for a gas station thanksgiving. Honestly reminds me of king of the hill’s airport episode, but in a very good way and still unique enough circumstances to work.Also Flip, of all people, donates the cans needed to finish the can drive.. granted i’m not sure if they WANT any of that meat, but hey, he meant well and it made me really like the character. We get a heartwearming duet between hector and luna and sono the whole family and we’re out.

Final Thoughts: This was disapointing. I’ve listed most of my complaints already, but overall it wasted a good premise of two families coming together, and even the feud parts could’ve been funnier. As it is it’s just.. ehhhhhhhhhh. It has some good parts, and bobby is an angel here on earth as always. But the whole just feels padded. Like this was SUPPOSED to just be 11 minutes, got bumped up, and thus here we are. It’s not the worst Loud House has done, i’ve seen and heard of muccch worse, but for a holiday special it just feels stale and i’ve seen way better thanksgiving specials. And i’ll be getting to that. If there’s an episode of a cartoon you’d like me to cover, just pop in my ask box or dms and you can comission a review for 5 bucks a piece. Discounts on bulk, 15 for movies. Until then , happy thanksgiving.

#the loud house #the casagrandes #the loudest thanksgiving #bobby santiago #lori loud #flip #thanksgiving #i'm .. i'm not tagging everyone #there were two fullf amilies involved andi 'm tired #reviews

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p1harmonyofficial · 5 years ago

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[📰] Interview: P1Harmony Want to Speak their Truth

One day, a mysterious virus appears. It seeps through every crack on Earth, swift and uncontrollable, infecting millions of people. Soon enough, a global pandemic sets in and the worst facets of humanity flourish—wrath, viciousness, extermination.

To a person living in 2020, this paragraph is nothing extraordinary. We have now become used to a daily, dim diet of updates about the COVID-19 outbreak wreaking havoc in the world. But last year, when everyone was still blissfully unaware, the six members of soon-to-be P1Harmony (P1H) were recording their ambitious full-length movie, centered around this same theme. “People might think that we predicted the future or something, but it was a very weird coincidence for us as well,” says Keeho, the Korean-Canadian leader of the group. “We made a movie about a virus and, sadly, this situation happened.”

P1H: A New World Begins hit Korean cinemas on October 8, and is the first-ever feature film to revolve around a K-pop group’s universe. In it, P1Harmony plays extraordinary versions of themselves that are the world’s only hope against the devastating Alcor virus. With cameos by Yoo Jae-seok, Jung Hae-in, Jung Jin-young, CNBlue’s Yonghwa, AOA’s Seolhyun, and more, the movie is a compelling introduction to FNC Entertainment’s newest boy group.

Twenty days after the movie premiere, P1Harmony finally made their official debut with the brassy, powerful “Siren,” off the EP Disharmony: Stand Out. And now, a few weeks into their busy schedules, they are sitting in a conference room to talk to Seoulbeats over Skype. It’s past 11pm in Seoul and they are still in their Show Champion outfits, but the energy in the room is unrelenting. After training for a whole year together, Keeho says that their debut “feels just like a dream.” The most talkative members—Jiung, Intak, and Keeho—take the front row, while Jongseob, Theo, and Soul sit behind them, following along with observant eyes and keen remarks.

“The connection between the movie and our album is the virus,” explains the lavender-haired maknae Jongseob. Despite recently turning 15, he speaks with the wisdom of a seasoned idol — in 2017, he won the competition show K-pop Star 6, and in 2018 he endured YG’s survival show Treasure Box. “In the movie, the virus is a metaphor to show that the world is in a disconnected state, so we got together to bring peace to this world. The six of us are here to stand up for what we feel it’s right and speak our truth,” he adds.

Differently from the SARS-CoV-2, the Alcor virus from A New World Begins is spread by drones who detect human voices. It’s a pandemic of silence — a parallel to feeling impotent against dominant structures — and to survive, you have to keep your mouth shut. That’s why speaking up is so important to P1Harmony. “Because we are teenagers, we tried to portray the things that people our age go through and inspire them to do what they want, regardless of what others are saying or thinking,” explains Keeho, his articulate words complemented by wide hand gestures.

In these moments, it’s easy to see why Keeho was chosen as the leader: he knows when to take the reins, but is also encouraging towards the other members, helping in translations and making sure everyone has the space to talk. At 19, he is part of P1Harmony’s hyung line along Theo and Jiung, but he affirms that age difference is never an issue. “We just talk to each other as friends, we rely on each other a lot, communicate a lot, give feedback. I don’t feel much pressure [being a leader] anymore because I know I can trust my members to do their best,” he says.

Rapper and dancer Soul, who is half-Korean but was born in Japan, is a testament to Keeho’s words. The members call him a “viber” — a word they invented to express Soul’s easygoing nature — but he affirms that adapting to the group as a foreigner was “not difficult at all.” Rather, the five other members of P1Harmony could be described as “vibers” themselves, gliding along the waves of an unprecedented year and trying to enjoy the present moment.

But knowing how to vibe doesn’t mean it’s all roses. Theo, a passionate vocalist who was sure he wanted to be a singer since childhood, reflects that “it’s a bit unfortunate that we couldn’t perform in front of our fans in person yet,” and Intak, Soul, and Jongseob, who still go to school, acknowledge the difficulty of working long hours. “For music programs, we do pre-recordings during early mornings and then go to classes after. It’s hard, but we try to balance as much as we can,” reveals Intak in his characteristic liveliness. “Your thoughts define who you are,” he continues. “Despite the negatives and hardships, I try to be optimistic, control my mind, and bring out good vibes as much as I can.”

This spirit is reflected throughout Disharmony: Stand Out. A collection of powerful hip hop sounds and echoes of old-school K-pop, it also features lyrics written or co-written by the members in all tracks. “We wrote a lot as trainees, but because we were writing for our album this time, me and Jongseob just tried to enjoy the process. We talked a lot about keywords, about what we should write, and the experience was really fun and satisfying,” says Intak.

“We wanted to emphasize our personal traits,” further explains Jiung. A versatile singer, rapper, and dancer, he also revealed a talent for comedy when asked about his hidden skills. “I’m great at cycling. I was so great that I almost entered a professional competition when I was in school. Thanks to that, I have really nice, strong, thick thighs.” Keeho confirms, saying that Jiung’s thighs are, indeed, “very thick.” Needless to say, the room cracks up in laughter, while Jongseob covers his face in disbelief.

It takes a good minute until everyone fully recovers, but this irreverence is part of the group’s solid foundations. By showing their own colors and standing up for their message, whether it’s hilarious anecdotes, breaking stereotypes in “Intro; Breakthrough,” or enjoying what you can’t avoid in “Nemonade,” P1Harmony is set for a bright future.

A New World Begins has an open ending that suggests the possibility of a sequel. “There’s nothing officially set in stone, but maybe there’s some thoughts about it. Maybe!” says Keeho, but he does confirm that a second album is in the works right now—cue in Jiung’s “ta-dahhhhhh!” and a round of applause by the other members. “Hold on! We have never told anyone about this before,” he realizes. “We cannot tell you when it will come out, but we can say that we are working hard on it, and it’s something you guys should keep an eye out for.”

#p1harmony #ot6 #t:news #era:disharmony : stand out #201122

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goatsandgangsters · 4 years ago

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for the trans ask game, 13 and 31 :)

13. What (if any) steps do you want to take to medically transition?

TOP SURGERY BABEYYYYYYYYY!!!!

I have absolutely no idea when that might happen, because pandemic. But I had a telehealth consult back in September. My therapist and my PCP are ready to write me the insurance letters whenever it feels like time to move forward. But I’m a little stuck in this process right now, again because pandemic—which is not only a question of “are surgeries being performed/is it safe to get them,” but also “who can be part of my post-op care” and “do I have the emotional energy to work towards this in the middle of a pandemic.”

I don’t have plans for T, but it’s also... not off the table. I go back-and-forth in how I feel about T, but I’m not someone who does anything until I’m like 1000000% sure and then I make myself wait another three months JUST IN CASE. I used to think it wasn’t even an option, because I thought of hormones as a very binary “either never or for the rest of your life” and I didn’t know that low-dose T was a thing—so finding out I have more options and flexibility than I realized opened up the possibility. (“I don’t have definite plans for T,” I say, while knowing the exact steps I would need to start T, deciding that I want gel over injections and that I would want to only do a lower dose but would likely stop at some point, and watching yet another youtube video about changes on low-dose T). Sometimes I’m like YES PLEASE and sometimes I’m like hmm no thank you, so I’m just not going to do anything about T right now and focus instead on top surgery—because that’s something I know definitively that I want, there’s no doubt or hesitation in my mind, and I’ve consistently wanted a flat chest for years.

31. How are you involved with the trans community, IRL or online?

Well, pre-pandemic, I had finally gotten very involved with the trans community IRL and it was amazing. Towards the end of 2018, I started going to a trans support group (which sounds more structured than it was, but maybe that’s just my misperception of support groups. it was basically trans people sitting around in a circle going “who wants to moderate today” and then collecting a list of topics/questions that people wanted to explore or get advice/help on) and then we’d all go out to dinner afterwards! So it was great because I got to spend a lot of time talking to trans people, listening to trans people, hearing different experiences, and also just being social with trans people.

I also made friends that I would hang out with outside of the group. A handful of friends on the transmasculine spectrum (some trans men, some nonbinary) started doing monthly dinners where we’d cook together and be vulnerable and talk about specific intersections of transness and masculinity and that was really nice. We’d also just hang out socially, go shopping together, have get-togethers for birthdays, etc.

The support group did move online when the pandemic started but I haven’t gone, partly because I don’t think it’d be the same, partly because I don’t have the energy, partly because of the sunk cost fallacy that I haven’t gone since so I’m going to continue not going. I’ve done a couple sporadic zoom hangouts with my friends though, and we’re going to try and set up more regular zoom hangouts this year.

[Trans ask game! What has been your gender journey?]

#I like your palindromes anon #big gender mood #anon tag #answered tag

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troutfishinginmusic · 5 years ago

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Interview: Bombastic Dream Pussy

Photo by Jacob Floyd

Bombastic Dream Pussy’s new record, BDP, is a document that expands on the project’s earlier EPs. BDP is filled with howling noise and harrowing lyrics, relenting occasionally for something more serene. Once you finish the album the silence of a room really hits you. I always meant to see the band live. In pre-pandemic times it always felt like “well, maybe next time.” It’s a stance I probably won’t have when this is all over. At the center of the Oak Park-based project is Hayley McNichol, who was kind enough to answer a few questions about the project via Instagram messenger.

How did Bombastic Dream Pussy come about? Where did the name come from? I came up with the name while I was in college. Me and my ex were joking around, and we were saying we were going to start an experimental porn noise band. I said it should be called “Bombastic Dream Pussy.” When I started playing solo shows in 2017 I decided to use the name for a first few, but then everyone liked it, so I kept it. To be honest, I’m actually thinking of changing the name.

Who made you want to start playing music? What’s the first album you really connected with as a kid? It’s hard to say who exactly. I wanted to play drums or guitar since I was like, 5 or so. The desire was always there. My older brother, Andy, started playing bass and guitar when I was in middle school and I’d pluck around on bass a bit when he’d let me. I was in middle school and high school band, so I got to learn how music worked and all that. When I was 18 me and Andy started playing in a band together and I actually started to learn to play bass. So it was partly Andy and partly just myself. I remember the first CD I ever got was ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. I think it came in either pink or blue, and I got the pink one. My dad got me that, along with a little boom box to play it on. Also, when I was a kid, I loved Laundry Service by Shakira and a lot of random Nirvana songs.

What was the process of putting together BDP like? I can imagine releasing something like that, where it’s a fully-formed snapshot of the project, feels a bit muted during a pandemic. These five songs were basically our live set, others were thrown in here and there, but if we played a show we played most of or all of those songs. We played them together for a little over a year, and they really evolved. Luckily, when it came time to record them, we were pretty tight. The songs were, I think, really well fleshed out. We tracked drums, bass and rhythm guitar live. Then I overdubbed guitar and vocals. We also had Jared Talcott, our most recent addition, overdub guitar tracks on a couple songs. My friend Ethan Lynch added some synths. Tyler Floyd, the producer, added a Rhodes; and Austin Stawowczyk played the pedal steel. Prior to recording, when we played live, it was as a three piece. So getting to go to a studio and adding these extra layers was really cool. What music has been resonating with you during the pandemic? I have been listening to a lot of Elliott Smith, Radiohead and Greet Death. Also, The Cranberries but just the hits. Prior to all this, what made shows meaningful? Did you like playing shows? I loved playing shows! I think the energy of a live performer is really difficult to match in a recording. A recording is like a photograph or a painting of a song. A song is like a living being, so you’re just capturing it at one point in time. In a live performance the song gets to grow. You get to improv, every time it’s a bit different. It’s exciting to think about what the song is going to do the next time you play it. Plus there’s just the catharsis of singing and playing on stage. Feeling yourself and the crowd feed off of each other’s energy. I really, really miss it. In the past, what are some shows you went to that really made an impact on you? Boris at the Magic Stick in 2014, Built to Spill at Founders in 2015, My Bloody Valentine in Chicago in 2018 and Saajtak at Ghost Light in 2019. There are so many more, but I didn’t want to write out a huge list. What are some bands people should look into right now? No Fun Club, Content., Benign Appeal, Zilched, Primer, Holy Profane, Great Expectations, Taurus Moon, Parkway & Columbia, Saajtak, Throwaway and Labour Day Weekend. Lists like these are so hard because I always feel like I’m forgetting people. I don’t mean to, it’s just everyone is doing an amazing job.

You can listen to/buy Bombastic Dream Pussy’s BDP here.

#indie #detroit #bombasticdreampussy

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perfectirishgifts · 5 years ago

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Sunday Conversation: Fleet Foxes On Making ‘Shore,’ Being Backstage With Paul McCartney And Neil Young And More

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/sunday-conversation-fleet-foxes-on-making-shore-being-backstage-with-paul-mccartney-and-neil-young-and-more/

Sunday Conversation: Fleet Foxes On Making ‘Shore,’ Being Backstage With Paul McCartney And Neil Young And More

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND – JULY 28: Robin Noel Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes performs during “If I Had A … [] Song”, closing the 60th annual Newport Folk Festival 2019 at Fort Adams State Park on July 28, 2019 in Newport, Rhode Island. (Photo by Douglas Mason/WireImage)

In September Fleet Foxes released their fourth album, Shore. The collection, a surprise announced just the day before its September 22 release, is a sterling 15-track package of songs that has ended up on numerous best of year-end lists.

I spoke with Fleet Foxes mastermind Robin Pecknold who told me the album was begun pre COVID, then finished in isolation during the pandemic. And in terms of the surprise release, Pecknold admits he was partially inspired by Taylor Swift’s Folklore.

During the course of our very engaging conversation Pecknold took me through the making of the album, what it was like to be in a conversation with Neil Young and Paul McCartney and how his songs have changed over the years.

Steve Baltin: How is it in New York City now?

Robin Pecknold: It’s alright, it’s getting a little colder, which is feeling good. They’re installing permanent outdoor dining in all the restaurants so it feels a bit like a permanent music festival, lot of tents everywhere. But it’s been good all things considered.

Baltin: How long have you lived in New York?

Pecknold: I’ve been here on and off for like six years or so.

Baltin: Where was Shore written?

Pecknold: Some stuff in Portugal, I took a couple weeks and went to Portugal, and then mostly in my apartment in New York.

Baltin: I am always a big believer in how environment affects writing. So does the stuff you wrote in Portugal feel different to you then the stuff written in New York?

Pecknold: I can’t say it was actually entirely written in New York, but I did kind of write some stuff in Portugal. We were working in a studio in France where I ended up writing some stuff. And then worked in a studio in L.A. where I was writing a lot. And, like you were saying, I had the thought maybe at some point to make my own little studio space to work in, but then I also love variety and I think variety is super important to how a record turns out. And I wouldn’’t want to feel obligated to only work in one space I guess, as I spend a bunch of money setting it up for that reason, but maybe someday. I think, for writing chord progressions and stuff that can happen anywhere, and a lot of that I just did in my bedroom. But then writing songs, it’s good to buy a new guitar or go to some place in the woods, or whatever it is, to kind of get out of the routine mind set.

Baltin: For you this is a very global album, what was the time spent that it was written and recorded then? I am assuming it predates COVID then?

Pecknold: It does definitely predate COVID. I started working on this right at the end of the Crack Up tour. September 2018 I started writing songs for this kind of knowing that it can take me a while to write stuff and I wanted to have something out within three years of that album, even though we did a two-year tour. So I had to kind of just keep going after that was done. Um, and so most of the music was done by February of 2020, but I didn’t have any lyrics written and there were a couple gaps in the track listing. It totally pre-dates COVID. I was kind of confused about how to finish it once the pandemic hit, when and how it should come out, or if I should even put the time and money into finishing it at all, but I’m glad that it came together like how it did.

Baltin: So at what point did you make the decision to put it out? Why a surprise release.

Pecknold: It was sometime in June or July, cause the big bottleneck was having lyrics to record and I didn’t have any. And that was just like, “Who knows when these will happen, this could take until the end of fall. This could drag on forever if I can’t get these lyrics done.” But then they just kind of started happening in a way I wasn’t really expecting in June. Once that happened I was like, “Okay great, I have all these lyrics I can record, so I can actually finish this damn album now.” Then in July I had to start thinking about that ‘when it’s going to come out’ and I think a few days before that Taylor Swift album came out and I was like “I just want to put it out a couple weeks after it’s done. If I have to do that on Bandcamp so be it.” And then, that happened and that emboldened me to do that because, she’s obviously much more successful, but someone else publicly releasing music was thinking along those same lines just that this uncertainty will continue for who knows how long. So it was kind of in July that the September release plan came together. And tying it to the equinox felt really good cause it was on a Tuesday. Albums used to come out on Tuesday and I used to love that. And that felt like tying it to something that didn’t have anything to do with politics or with the stresses of 2020, the societal stresses. It’s a gamble, who knows if that was the best idea in the long run but it’s worth it to me to just have it off my mental plate.

Baltin: Was there a turning point where you started to feel like the songs were coming in a direction for you or the lyrics started to manifest themselves?

Pecknold: Yeah, like I said, I went right into making this album right after the last tour and so that was two years of touring. I guess there is some stuff people write about, exhaustion on tour or make albums about that. I didn’t have like a big break up I wanted to write about. I was just kind of making music or thinking about music for like four years straight. So I didn’t feel like I had a lot to write about before the pandemic. But then having this like three-month forced reflection time when there’s this long overdue emphasis on social justice and systemic injustice and class consciousness that was not being paid enough attention to the last few years. And just feeling grateful to have a roof over my head and to not know anyone who’s passed but also feeling an impetus to keep the memory of the dead alive in some way musically and lyrically. I guess all of the lyrical ideas I found for the album were totally just resultant from lock down and the pandemic, and without that I wouldn’t have had anything to really write about.

Baltin: Writing is such a subconscious thing, so we’re there lyrics that when you go back and look at them that really kind of surprised you?

Pecknold: Yeah, I think there is a lyric in the song “Featherweight” that talks about making life harder for yourself, something I would have definitely done in the past, out of success coming too easy, or stuff like that. I would seek out hardship where I found it just to kind of temper the good luck I’ve had. And so, I wasn’t intending to write a song about that, but the lyric kind of came out, “In all this war I’d forgotten how many men might die for what I’d renounce.” That lyric just flowed perfectly with the melody and rhymed perfectly and it was just the first lyric that came out of nowhere and then kind of set the tone for the rest of it.

Baltin: As you get older, I think for everyone, you get more comfortable with yourself. So do you feel like that’s allowed you to get a little more comfortable with the idea of success or the fact that you’ve had the success?

Pecknold: I’m super lucky to be able to make music for a living still. I’m not set for life by any means. I want to continue working and doing exciting things and I intend to keep that energy going. As far as shirking success I can see both sides of that where you would say, “Yeah this is uncomfortable.” I’m super lucky I’m not so well known that I can’t go outside in some fame prison, that seems difficult in some ways. But also those people have all the resources in the world and can mitigate that however they want. I don’t have that experience, I’m pretty anonymous. I’m not like embracing success or chasing it but something feels kind of gross about renouncing it or when it’s a really rare opportunity and a lot of people would kill to be in a position to be able to do that.

Baltin: A lot of people who would kill to be in that position have no idea what it comes with. Is there one artist that you look to as having sort of the role model career, the definitive career of that balance of fame and success and everything?

Pecknold: My answer for this, Charles Ives (laughs). Which is kind of a pretentious answer, but he was an insurance broker and a well respected one, and he won awards in the business and that security allowed him to make this insane innovative classical music, kind of in his spare time, a little bit. I think Charles Ives is my weird answer to that.

Baltin: That’s a great answer. I don’t know who he is. Now I’m curious to go check him out.

Pecknold: He’s experimental and Americana type classical music from a long time ago.

Baltin: My answer is Tom Waits. He can go tour whenever he wants, he’s set from royalties presumably, he’s always got a following. But he can go into the market and no one knows who he is other than you and me and music geeks.

Pecknold: That is the absolute dream. And his success with Anti Records is one of many reasons that we wanted to put out the album with them. He’s actually not that different from Charles Ives in my opinion as someone who is kind of taking American tropes and twisting them and making them their own. 1699

Baltin: Are there songs of yours where you go back and they change for you over time? Are there songs of yours that you have the different appreciation for that have changed over the years?

Pecknold: Yeah definitely. As a lyricist I always start with the melody first. I always want to work as much meaning as I can. I want it to be as coherent as a story or as whatever the lyric is. It’s always the melody first. It can be the kind of thing where one word pops out and then the words that rhyme with that word kind of dictate almost how the lyric flows. So sometimes when I am writing lyrics, I don’t feel that in control because I feel like I have so many restrictions on how it needs to be. And I will look back and be like, “Damn that guy, he was really searching or he was really confused,” in a way that I wasn’t really conscious of in the moment writing it. I think there was song on the Crack-Up album called “Cassius” that was really about walking in protest, but I didn’t know how much I could claim that so it was a little bit imagistic. I felt uncomfortable owning it for some reason, because of who I am. I didn’t want to feel appropriative of the moment. And all of that album, all the lyrics for that were written on November/December 2016 and now were four years up from that. So there is a lot of despair in that album that I have to associate with that winter, that fall.

Baltin: I like the way that you put it, where you’re talking about it, and you’re like, that guy. When you go back and look at stuff, do you feel like it almost is coming from someone else, because it’s subconscious?

Pecknold: Oh, absolutely. There are things that remain, like a work ethic or a set of standards or certain kinds of tastes, but the subconscious stuff that’s happening with lyrics, that was someone else’s work entirely. There is a whole different set of behind the scenes factors going on now verses then. In that Dylan interview where he is like I can’t access that anymore, the guy that wrote those songs, in that 60 Minutes interview. You just hope that whatever you do have access to remains exciting to you I guess. But yeah, I don’t feel like the same person that made those early albums at all.

Baltin: We talked early on about dealing with success and the different feelings that come with that. Are there artists that you’ve gotten to speak to or that you look to that you really admire for the way that they, or the advice that they’ve given you for how to sort of handle that double edge sword?

Pecknold: I guess I have some contemporaries, like the guys in Grizzly Bear or Dirty Projectors, we’ll kind of talk shop about how our “careers” are going or like what we wanna do, or touring, or recording. We’ll of talk shop every once in a while and check in with each other and that’s kind of helpful I think. There was one festival, this was 10 years ago, where I found myself speaking with Neil Young and Paul McCartney. This was the weirdest triangle of people I’ve obviously ever been in. I said literally nothing. I was just shocked at being in that position of standing next to those two guys, and they were talking about something. And then Paul McCartney was like “Oh hey, great album, keep Fleeting.”He just mentioned it in this cheeky kind of Paul McCartney way I think, just this little pun. But I have thought over the years at times of difficulty, I’ve thought, “Keep Fleeting.” In this kind of like way of if, Paul told me to keep fleeting, I must keep fleeting. So that’s as a weirdly minor event, that he probably doesn’t even remember saying it, but you know, those things have deeper resonance than someone intends.

Baltin: Now being older, having more experience in the industry, what would you ask Paul McCartney and Neil Young hanging out with both of them if you felt more comfortable to contribute to the conversation?

Pecknold: I would just ask how they got through certain phases of their career where they were finding some new thing they wanted to do, but they were a couple years off of their biggest albums. How were they keeping excited and what else was on their mind. I guess I would ask those kinds of questions about that as I am kind of moving into that phase a little bit myself, you know, doing this for 10 or 12 years now. I totally agree that you should never lose your fandom and i think it’s almost better just to be guileless enough to be like, “Hey, I’m a big fan, I love your music.” Rather than try to be kind of like, Yeah, we’re peers. Or to ingratiate yourself with someone because you want something from them, that always feels gross to me, and I try to avoid that as much as possible.