#But main instruments i know and play are the saxophone & keyboard

[synthshenanigans]

OMG YOURE IN BAND??? WHAT SO YOU PLA. Y

OH well its not like a BAND band [tho i wish i could]. Instead its marching band lol. Ive already graduated from high school so im just helping my sister since its her last year in band/high school.

BUUT I played the Alto Saxophone! Also did Trumpet & Mellophone for a bit. Now though usually play piano/keyboard at home. [Not amazing at it but I can play all of The Mind Electric & Battle Against a True Hero!]

[firestorm09890]

rambling about the org xiii orchestra art

as someone in an orchestra for real

(from here)

I can’t tell what instrument Larxene has. I thought it was castanets and someone else suggested egg shakers but both are not traditional orchestra instruments so it’s really just weird

neat that both Xaldin and Lexaeus are playing the BIG percussion instruments, and both Axel and Saix are playing woodwinds (harp is a stringed instrument too so i make no comment on the strings)

There’s no [x]ylophone pun unfortunately because those huge tubes indicate that’s actually a marimba both Xion and Roxas are playing. There is however a pun in the fact that it’s a KEYboard instrument. also they’re just adorable

actually I just remembered that instrument names aren’t common knowledge, here they are:

Xemnas is the conductor/orchestra director; Xigbar on saxophone, Luxord on trumpet, and Marluxia on trombone (that’s our brass); Axel on flute and Saix on.... it’s hard to see but I think that’s an oboe (woodwinds); Xaldin on timpani, Lexaeus on bass drum, Larxene on... something??, and Roxas & Xion on marimba (percussion); and then Vexen on harp, Zexion on violin, and Demyx on double bass (strings)

Marluxia why are you holding a flower I know you have an aesthetic but you need both hands to play a trombone

There are 3 main instrument sections (kinda) that are the “obnoxious know-it-all” instruments, stereotyped as generally having a superiority complex over the other sections because they’re soooo important look at meeee carrying the melody: the trumpet for band, the 1st violin for orchestra, and the soprano for voice (and the secret 4th, the flute for woodwinds). With that said, of course Zexion would play violin

And following both that and his Mystery Gear in 358/2 Days, it would have made more sense thematically for Xigbar to be playing the trumpet. however the saxophone is the funny meme instrument so it still works

There is NO WAY Demyx is a double bass player. It’s the only instrument besides percussion that you have to stand up for (though some orchestras do have the bassists sit on stools), and it’s much more work to actually PLAY than the other string instruments, by virtue of being much bigger. they tend to play less than most other stringed instruments, sure, but if you want to be sitting around not doing much you’re best off picking a different instrument entirely, especially since string sections tend to require more unanimity in playing than the brass/woodwinds/percussion since there’s more people playing each part

harps are rare to include in compositions. they’re very nice and melodious though. idk what this says about Vexen

generally there’s not enough percussion players to cover every single instrument which means that Larxene is definitely running around to cover all the small parts (whatever she’s holding, it’s definitely percussion)... actually with Xaldin Lexaeus Roxas and Xion in percussion as well she might not have to but she is the speedy one so

--

I hope what Saix is holding is an oboe and not a clarinet because if it’s an oboe we get some more symbolism, as well as some very nice... dynamic between his instrument and Zexion’s :)

you see, the oboe is the instrument that tunes the entire rest of the orchestra. whatever the oboe’s A sounds like will be the A the ensemble matches. one could say it’s the most important instrument

HOWEVER, the first chair of 1st violin is nominally the most important instrument- that’s the “concertmaster”, and they get to walk on-stage after everyone else (but before the conductor, obviously). they’re also important for real- based on the repertoire they’re basically guaranteed to have at least one solo. they sit at the very front, right next to the conductor. in my orchestra the concertmaster has a little biography in the program along with the conductor’s

there’s actually multiple rounds of tuning- the first couple it’s the oboe doing their thing and the other non-string instruments matching, and then the last round the concermaster matches the oboe, and then the string instruments match the concertmaster.

and that’s all so very interesting, isn’t it

and finally

Xemnas is 100% a garbage conductor. To the audience he looks very cool, doing all his sweeping motions, but it’s impossible to follow as an orchestra member, so you’re really on your own because the conductor is not conducting properly and not giving helpful cues

[justthemoonz]

Idk if I ever talked about this here but a while ago this year I had this idea for a sound-based RPG called Sound Off, which I later renamed to Soundless The protagonist was "Hero", a character you could name but Hero would realistically be their name

As for the game, the original premise was that it was just a normal RPG, except there was 0 sound and characters were not able to speak Everything was also purely black and white, which indicated the lack of music After you completed the game you'd have a NEW GAME+ which added the sound and music back and it'd be an entirely new experience with proper colors and music/sounds but overtime I realized that would probably suck a lot when putting it into actual practice After playing with some ideas I later decided that instead of making it a normal RPG, I'd just fully give into the music premise and have the combat system be more music-based IT'D STILL play out like a normal RPG, but now during each main BOSS fight in an area your sword would turn into an instrument with an entirely new gimmick that's music related, and you'd get teached that gimmick by a companion called Épine, a strange black and white dog

(If I remember correctly, I based their personality off of Jevil from Deltarune and The Judge from OFF, So I guess it'd be like Seam from Deltarune in that regard?) At the start they just kind of help you because they HAVE to but as you progress through the adventure they grow to enjoy your company But that's for another time, back to the gimmicks Basically, Épine would teach you how you attack with each instrument depending on the main boss for a main area There were also three instruments, one for each main area A Guitar, A Keyboard, And A Saxophone (Concept for an example of the GUITAR gimmick below)

I also made concepts for the battle transitions, but couldn't figure out the one for Saxophone so I didn't include it in (NOTE: these were made a few months ago, as well as every other thing shown here, if I ever make a proper RPG for this, they might change in the future)

After you defeated the main boss of an area, the area that the main boss was in will now regain its sound as well as its color, meaning that if you want to, you can backtrack and check things you missed or listen to some Overworld Music (iirc I think the music for the encounters was still there so at least you'd have that in the meantime) You also KEPT the musical instruments, however the entire gimmick in battle would now be changed to one "Spell" (not actually a Spell, I just don't have a proper name for it) and would still be able to use them for attacks but you wouldn't have a proper moveset with them anymore, and would only have the Sword as your main way of attacking Not only that, but you'd also be able to use them in the overworld for puzzles revolving their specific musical instruments! > An example: A path you have to go on but you're not able to because the tiles aren't appearing but you see a certain order to them that indicates you have to use the Keyboard? Active the Keyboard and play it on that specific order and the path will appear! (I don't know if this would happen in game, I was just giving an example) Last thing I remember, some places you'd go to would still be colorful and play music even if everything else was fully in black and white, it'd just have to depend on if there was someone playing an instrument there or not If there was, let's say, a band playing music inside a building, the building would be colorful and have music inside of it, which I also thought was pretty cool

[catchyhuh]

Hello I am DEVOURING your headcanons. they're so so so fun to read dude, you have no idea. I'd be honored to fuel the beast 👍

As a hypothetical au, if the gang (pops included) were to be in a band together, what roles do you think they would have? Who'd be the front/ on vocals, who would play what instruments, would one of them take the manager role (or maybe which side character would be their manager?), etc etc??

Cheers, and welcome to tumblr!)

SEE THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKIN ABOUT!! I’D NEVER HAVE EVEN CONSIDERED THIS WITHOUT YOUR ASK! THANK YOU SO MUCH! for both the inspiration and the kind words/welcome :)

ok battle of the bands let’s see…

lupin:

known attention whore = MADE for the too self important lead vocalist whose ego eventually breaks up the band. it’s just that by standard lupin miracles nobody has even considered that as an option! but just saying “main character is the frontman” is boring so let’s go further

lupin probably had like piano lessons as a kid per the hyper decadent lifestyle of the family, but he only retained like. don’t stop believin maybe. piano isn't totally his style in a BAND band, like he COULD do keyboard reasonably if he wanted but he thinks it looks silly so he doesn’t because he’s just. like that. it's his band he gets to do whatever

jack of all trades master of none most likely. can play a little on the guitar, bass, bagpipes for all i care, jaw harp, elementary school recorder, etc, but it’s mostly for show. he’d kill on drums but that’s in the BACK and HE can’t be in THE BACK

jigen: 

a second in command comfortable with being second in command? jigen wouldn’t even be on the stage if it was up to him, he’d just play his part like standing on the steps to the platform

guitar, but prefers acoustic. he processes the notes better if they're like, "organic" like that, not to say he CAN'T do electric guitar, and he admits it sounds pretty sick time to time, but he has his preference. he loves the sound of piano, too, but he doesn’t have the fingers for it, and he’d LOVE to do saxophone but learning it is a real task and it’s hard to juggle murder, burglary, and lessons simultaneously. maybe if he ever retires. and if that smoker’s lung capacity doesn’t have anything to say about it

jigen’s gonna be causing beef about the music styles for sure. and lupin’s like “you LOVE rock” and he’s like “but this is specifically is shit. actually take it down a few steps pal let’s just do some billy joel” “WE HAVE AN AMP.”

fujiko:

oh god she has a beautiful singing voice. you know it, i know it, everyone does, and maybe she’ll sing once in a while, but her REAL deal is managing.

oh she LOVES being on that clunky flip phone going “my talent would sooner play a swamp than take pocket change from your dinky little joint” and really none of the others like the setup side of playing live music so really it works out! plus she gets to hit ‘em with the agent royalties. best of both worlds

could probably play damn near any instrument if she really tried, but she doesn’t care too much to make that effort, at least not for this purpose. she likes listening and dancing to music more anyway! it’s probably why she doesn’t sing too much despite her natural gift there. i bet she'd be hands on if they made a music video or something though

goemon:

you know what instrument/position perfectly encapsulates “often overlooked but everything would fall apart without them”? THE BASS. and let’s be honest nothing hits like a sick bass line. auditory equivalent of watching this guy slice the moon in half or some shit

initially i see him not getting why anyone would want to do this? the recording he gets, he’d wanna listen to this again later too, and the live music he understands, because it’s more. personal. frankly cooler. but performing for strangers? but au or not MONEY IS A HELL OF A MOTIVATOR! 

they’re not even that type of band and yet goemon is absolutely the dreamboat pick with all the fans. it’s so funny he himself doesn’t even care (the idea flatters him, but none of these people really know him, ergo the attraction isn’t completely bc of who he is as a person so he’s like hm. whatever) but lupin’s like we’re not a fucking boyband. and if we were a boyband WHY IS IT YOU AND NOT ME? 

could pull sales by himself tbh but he wouldn’t. he loves his friends he’s not bailing for money. no matter how often fujiko suggests i

zenigata:

wait. hold on i gotta look something up i feel like i just remembFUCK

I WAS GONNA SAY DRUMS. I WAS GONNA SAY DRUMS AND I DON’T WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE I'M JUST GOING THE BASIC ROUTE BUT REALLY IT’D BE GOOD FOR HIM TO GET SOME ENERGY OUT ON THOSE THINGS. also its symbolic because the drums are placed furthest away from the other instruments. it’s a music metaphor

okay let’s just forget the blurry t-shirt image. i’m sticking with drums. solid, consistent and neverfuckingending, just like he is. the first and last part of the song, most often. we love symbolism. as for why he’s here and his role in the madness? god knows. maybe he’s just doing it for the free drinks! i wouldn’t blame him! i can’t imagine the mental timeout i’d need touring with these people!

the only one that. not really clashes with fujiko's managing but the only one that has an opinion on the way they go about things. he probably went "what? why the hell would we open with that. what's the matter with you" and took the setlist and the others went. shrug. ok. and then he got on their backs about how they shouldn't be so passive this is a CAREER they're talking about!! HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS

a little addendum: it would be so cute if yata was also trying to manage them. like he’s fujiko’s assistant. man gets stuff DONE i can easily imagine the trade off of “yes i can schedule this. wait what are the hours? ooooh. lemme get you on the line with miss mine” and she just grins knowing she’s about to unload a whole schpeel on this phone guy. good cop bad cop managers. if i knew more about the band scene as a whole i bet i could throw some other thoughts in here but for now we'll just reach the honorary sixth guy :)

[weekend-whip]

Band au!!

The ninja: A VERY popular band with huge turnouts for their concerts. Their music can vary a lot, but they land solidly in the alt-pop/rock area when they aren’t doing any sort of solo acts.

Kai: Basic electric/acoustic guitar, but he’s the lead vocalist and absolutely SHREDS when a song calls for a saxophone. Master of improv and is able to continue on with confidence if something goes wrong at a show. He likes it when he gets the chance to scream and jump.

Music type examples: I/Me/Myself by Will Wood, some of Bleacher’s more popular songs, Grandson, Bruno Mars, and a lot of FoB type-stuff.

Jay: Plays a little of everything, but his one true calling is the main melody on electric guitar. His fingerpicking skills are unparalleled. Girls throw themselves at his feet. It’s so sexy how fast his fingers move. He’ll also record some solo tracks on uke!

Music type examples: Complicated guitar melodies, All Time Low, and for uke think of stuff like ToP’s House of Gold and The Judge. The Orion Experience’s The Cult of Dionysus.

Cole: Bass guitar, and a little slap bass. He CAN NOT improv, he’s too scared to. Out of all of them he practices the most. He can do some solo piano stuff too, but not keyboard. Mostly stays back and lets the others take the spotlight, but when he gets really into it he might go up front and dance around with Kai.

Music type examples: I don’t know a lot of bass-centric songs, but he enjoys a lot of songs like Love Grows Where my Rosemary Grows. Autoheart. IDKHBTFM.

Zane: Keyboardist with experience in violin. When he gets in The Zone you cannot pull him out of it for anything less than the venue being on fire. He enjoys both fast-paced and slower music, and will sometimes join in on vocals.

Music type examples: Jake Wesley Rogers, Golden Hour, Cody Fry

Nya: Drums. She wants to hit things. Smack. Anger management. People are SO into it.

Music type examples: Anything with heavy drums and drum solos.

-

Jesse: Up and coming artist who does a lot of stuff with his sister. Can’t play any instruments too well so she makes tracks for him to add vocals to! He opens for the ninja a lot at their concerts.

Music type examples: Jake Wesley Rogers, other stuff you have already talked about, Bruno Mars if he’s feeling confident.

-

Olivia: Popular solo artist with a cult following. Leans heavily into the alt-rock and electronica scene. Sometimes she’ll hire the shark army as background players. Dances a LOT.

Music type examples: Paramore, P!atd, All Time Low, Daisy Grenade, K. Flay, and SPECIFICALLY Black Sheep from Scot Pilgrim vs. the World

Antonia/Bridget: Managers for the ninja/Jesse and Olivia respectively. God help them.

Jamie: Stage hand and photographer for both! He focuses too much on Olivia, though. Is it hot in here or is it just him? Has nothing to do with the drop she did while dancing and how she looked into the camera- no way.

Nya: We're really calling ourselves "The Ninja"? Kai: It's quick, it's catchy, it fits nicely on merch!!

Nya: Jay, I need you to stop being so hot while playing guitar Jay: It's not like I can turn it off???? *plays a riff* Nya: Pls your fans are starting to bruise with how hard they're falling at your feet Sunni: *lying on the floor* One more solo please!! I can handle it!!

Cole: All right, guys, let's rehearse one more time— Kai: Oooooor we could just jump onstage and just do whatever!!! The crowd loves spontaneity, that's why Jesse opens for us Jay: YEAH, FREESTYLE! Nya: *loud cacophony of drum slamming* Cole: PLEASE ANYTHING ELSE BUT THAT

Zane: I just think we should be incorporating a lot more violin into our songs— Kai: Zane. We're a pop-rock band. Save it for the solo album. Cole: Well, hold on, maybe it could put some extra spice into our music? Kai: When you can match a violin to my sister's erratic drum playing, then come talk to me Cole: Tch, bet Jay: *popcorn*

Jesse: *coming off from his act* You got a pic of my good side, right?? Jamie: Uhhh— *tries to run, drops several photos of dancing Olivia* W-Wait, I can explain, I— *drops even more photos of closeups of Olivia's smirk* WAIT JUST HOLD ON— Miranda: You had one job, man!!!! Antonia: At least get them autographed so we can sell them Jamie: *dies*

Olivia: —and then I struck a pose and threw him this sneaky little smirk and I thought he was gonna drop the camera, teehee Bridget: Bridget: We're doing a concert, not a runway model show!!! Olivia: I'M MULTITASKING

Nya: ...Do you ever think the band could use more...green? Kai: Not unless I'm wearing it *plays Careless Whisper on sax*

[funky-bird]

which instrumence does each play ?

I’m not entirely sure which characters specifically this is referring to, I want to say splatoon guys because they’re the ones I’ve been talking about a lot recently and because splatoon fans love their splatbands but I’m just going to talk about everyone LOL

Splatoon guys music info was mentioned already in this post! However I forgot to mention there that Zigzag plays bass guitar. They picked it up a small while before leaving the domes, and got really attached to it as something to do while adjusting to life on the surface. They specifically play a custom made gas powered electric guitar- mostly because I thought something with a pull cord would look cool LOL. I should probably draw it again sometime I forgot where my image of it went.

Onto the white whale fall characters: Amanita plays piano. She’s been taking piano lessons from a very young age, and she’s very good at it- although it’s not really a big passion of hers, just something she knows how to do.

Instruments is a very fun question for me to think about because of a specific group of characters in white whale fall who barely even show up in the story I just like them a lot. They’re the main characters in a hypothetical part 2 to the series, that I haven’t actually worked on more than just me saying I really like these characters LOL. These three characters however are in a band together! They’re characters I haven’t talked about hardly at all on here so I have images.

Sylvie (on the left) plays a LOT of instruments. I don’t have it nailed down the entire list of what she plays but I do know: she plays saxophone primarily, as her favorite one to play. Specifically baritone saxophone. Her bari sax is the only instrument she actually owns, anything else she plays is borrowed from the school. She plays trumpet and trombone as well. She knows how to play piano, and occasionally does keyboard for the band. Other than these concrete ones I imagine she plays a few other things too.

Dess (on the right) plays bass guitar and keyboard. I don’t have much else to say there.

There’s a third character named dexter who plays drums but for the life of me I really could not find a single picture of this guy unfortunately. He’s a dog with hair that goes over his eyes.

There’s one more character in the band, but I’m not going to reveal them, because I think it’s a fun little surprise. It’s not anything terribly big or important, but I still am keeping it under wraps for now. 😁They play guitar though.

[eugesounds]

A Saxophonist’s Journey

I have been a full-time musician for most of my adult life. I have not gone more than a few days without playing an instrument of some sort since the summer between my junior and senior years of high school.... and that was...gulp, about 50 years ago.

I am not famous and I am not rich, but I have a lifetime of amazing memories, many fantastic friends and colleagues in the industry, and a long history of great students that I feel very fortunate to have spent time with, and have hopefully helped along on their own musical journeys.

My earliest memories are almost all related to music. My parents had an old RCA Hi-fi in our living room. It was a magical box that would come to life with a warm glow, a comforting hum, and an enticing "electronic" smell. It emitted sounds that made the whole family smile and I was a big fan of all of it. When I was 4 years old I stood in front of that console imitating Louis Armstrong. I even kept my dad's handkerchief in my front pants pocket as a prop. Hello Dolly always brought the house down for the aunts and uncles.

Growing up Italian in NJ, it's only natural that Frank Sinatra's voice became the soundtrack of my childhood. I once asked my mom if we could "turn the volume down" as Sid Mark's radio show "Friday with Frank" blared from the living room at dinner time. She looked me dead in the eye, pointed down at the floor and said "Go eat in the basement". True story, but I digress.

My mom and dad loved to dance, so their record collection was full of great LP’s from the Big Band and swing eras. I would spend hours listening to old 78’s by Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others. And if there was someone my father admired slated to be on late-night television, he would wake me up so that we could watch them together.  I can still hear my mom saying "Arnold, just let him sleep!”. Those moments were so very special and they made a huge impact on me.

I was constantly trying to make music on anything I could get my hands on, from pots and pans to toy instruments. I'd tap out melodies on glasses full of water that were left on the table after a holiday dinner, trying to imitate something I saw on Ed Sullivan no doubt. I remember watching a half-time marching band show and then seeking out an old Maxwell House coffee can with a plastic lid to drum along.

I constantly asked my parents for any sort of toy instrument they might find and they provided me with a steady supply of plastic trumpets, small keyboards, slide whistles, and harmonicas. They made the mistake of getting me a snare drum one Christmas, but later came to their senses and allowed me to order a beautiful wooden Hohner recorder with a few leftover books of Green Stamps (look it up kids). By the way, the snare drum is long gone, but I still have the recorder.

There is one event from my childhood that looms larger than any other and accounts for why I chose saxophone as my main instrument when I had the chance. When I was 7 years old my mom sent me to get a haircut at "Uncle Lou's". Lou Cipriano was my godfather and a barber by trade. I'd walk over to his shop that was about a half mile from our house and he'd cut my hair. On this particular occasion I was walking home with a "fresh do" and happened upon what must have been a Memorial Day parade. 

As I made my way closer to the marchers, a magical sound caught my ear. I inched closer to catch a glimpse and stood mesmerized as a line of army veterans wearing period fatigues, complete with the flattish, "dough-boy" helmets, and brown boots laced up to just below the knee, approached. They were playing (what I now know as) curved soprano saxophone and I still get chills remembering that moment. It was as if the Universe was saying "Oh, you like that? Well that's just fine because you will be doing that exact thing for a very long time".

The distinct sound of those horns leapt into my ears and traveled directly to my core. I vividly remember how stunning, interesting, and beautiful I thought the saxophones were, and I knew instinctively that I could play that instrument if given the chance. I'm sure I stood in awe for many minutes until the men passed out of earshot. But that sound, on that day, has stayed with me my whole life.

A few years later my family moved from New Jersey to Massachusetts and the public school there had a robust music program. So mom, dad and I visited Robinson's Music on a Saturday morning to pick out an instrument. Mr Robinson pointed out the trumpets, clarinets, French horns and his favorite "The slide

trombone!". But there was not a chance in hell that I was leaving the store, on that day, without a saxophone.

I had wonderful teachers and mentors along the way and I enjoyed my time in concert band, marching band, and jazz band. They are some of my most cherished musical memories and I remain in touch with many buddies from those days, some of whom still make music an integral part of their lives. That's a huge testament to our teachers who encouraged us at every level.

As I mentioned up front, there was a short time between my junior and senior year of high school that I just put the horn down and was unsure if I wanted to play any more. But who was I kidding? My academics were woeful (I still don't get math) and music was one constant in my life. I distinctly remember my dad taking me aside that summer and saying "You want to quit? It's up to you. But God gave you a gift." And that really struck a chord with me as I was reminded of those soldiers marching by all those years ago.

I decided to attend the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. I never desired to teach in a school system and instead opted to teach privately and pursue a playing career. You've probably never heard of me and that's fine. I have a wonderful studio full of students and get to play with a bunch of great musicians in and around the Dallas area where I make my home. 

With all of the distractions available today, I am happy to report that people of all ages still have the desire to learn saxophone, often after experiencing a musical moment like the one I had. I have a small YouTube channel where I post videos about once a week. I don't edit or add any special effects and almost every one was done in “one-take” so you’ll hear some goof ups now and again. I simply try to present that same, pure sound that I heard when I was 7 years old outside of Uncle Lou's barber shop, with the hope that I might encourage folks on their own musical  journey. 

[racingtoaredlight]

E. POWER BIGGS MCLARGEHUGE

This is a stream of consciousness more than usual today...I posted this clip and was listening to it, thinking “jesus fucking christ, I can’t even imagine how difficult the pipe organ must be to play.”  Which isn’t necessarily true, because I can imagine how difficult it is to play.

Lets start off with the biomechanics...take your average elite drummer...say a Dennis Chambers or Bill Bruford type, and all their insane 4-limb independent movement.  Now take a virtuoso pianist like...oh, I don’t know, Glenn Gould...and make them play counterpoint with their feet too.  Then add the breath control of a great saxophone or horn player.

Guitar is probably a 4/10 on the difficulty scale when talking about instruments.  It’s tricky to learn how the fretboard lays out, but once you get that down, there’s not a whole lot of technical difficulty in the way.  Piano is even easier.  Once you learn how to use both hands at once, it’s no more difficult than typing on a keyboard in your office.

Typically, fare for these difficult instruments is pared way down so that musicians can play things that actually sound good with some relative ease.  But, of course, at the extremes we find musicians that not only clear an absurdly high barrier for entry, but then take it to incredible places.

This led me to write about the French horn...i.e. “the horn.”

***

If there was a singluar instrument that unites all musicians in terms of admiring those who can play it well, it’s the horn.  My grandfather was a trombone player...good enough to be a sub for Rochester’s main orchestra, and a mainstay in the amateur groups for decades.  He dabbled in the horn literally as a way to annoy his family.

My dad would tell me about how he’d be up at 7am on the weekends and practice in his basement office.  The vent led right up to my dad’s bedroom, and that gurgling cacophony of a horn played poorly was his alarm clock as a teenager.

But my grandfather knew that the trombone was where his talent lay.  Simply put, the horn was so much more difficult than any of the other ones he had down...trombone, trumpet, cornet, English horn...it just wasn’t worth the hours to master.

This quote sums it up better than I could...

Like the trumpet or tuba, valve keys (the instrument’s flat buttons) help players adjust the distance the moving air travels without changing one’s embouchure and airflow. The longer the tube, the lower the note (and vice versa). But for the French horn, a steady supply of air and pressing the right keys isn’t always enough to hit the right tone. Especially at the higher end of its range, certain notes can be played with the same valve key combinations, meaning it’s up to the player to maintain the exacting muscle memory and airflow to land a pitch correctly.

“The target is a lot easier to hit on a trumpet, trombone, or tuba. Whereas, on a horn, the notes are a lot closer together, and there is a lot more possibility of cracking something,” says Culpepper. The French horn’s register plays in a higher range of the harmonic series (essentially, the notes that are naturally playable without the use of valves), compared to other brass instruments. At higher pitches, it is incredibly sensitive to even small changes in the position of the mouth and air volume. That’s one of the main causes of so many blunders, and the reason brass players joke that the best way to make a trombone sound like a French horn is to stuff your hand into the bell and miss all your notes.

***

Point being, the margin for error is so preposterously small on the horn, if you don’t have superb breathing endurance and control (to ensure the proper air pressure and consistency) combined with impeccable technique (even small changes to your mouth shape would ruin the note), it’s going to be a fucking slog.

So why does anyone play the horn then?

Because the payoff is worth it.  The sound quality is just unbelievably good.  The range is tremendous and satisfying througout the harmonic series.  Four horns can do a similar job as an entire section of violinists OR violists.  It’s the ultimate horn, plain and simple.

***

This is one of my all time favorite pieces of music, and it’s all because of the ONE chord the French horns play.  Give me 45 seconds of your time...

Start this at 2:10 and just let it build.  You’ll hear the horns get more and more prominent as the orchestra builds up until the end, which everything lays out and lets the French horns sound this unbelievably beautiful chord on their one.  Perfect intonation.  Perfect unison.  Just incredible shit all around.

***

Horns have some of the strongest historical legacies of any of the groups of musical instruments other than drums and vocals.  Humans learned how to manipulate their lips and breathing to create sounds from animal horns that carried more distance (i.e. volume) than the human voice, and used these to signal other groups when hunting or during war.  They were used to announce things to the public, specifically the entrances of royalty or high ranking clergy.

Think of how many different terms are still around today that deal with horns.

“Horns of war.”  “Sound the trumpets.” In the Book of Revelation, God commanded Jericho be attacked by seven priests wielding trumpets.  Think about how horns are still used today...in cars, on boats, to signal shit coming like tornadoes...

The horn is like a sonic bulldozer.  Things like violins and woodwinds cut through the sonic mix with sawtooth sonic waves.  Horns are exactly like bulldozers though.  Their waves take up a ton of space, and just plow through...which is why you can have four or six horns do the job of dozens of stringed musicians.

And the French horn is the Cadillac of all of them.

IF you can master it...a big if...the payoff is absolutely tremendous.  An unbelievably rich sound that covers a huge sonic range, and one that’s the platonic ideal of an entire class of instruments.  But fuck is it hard to play.

The guitar is easy.  Which is why I like it.

[prince-of-elsinore]

@stanfordsweater tagged me aaages ago for this, and I'm finally making my way through a backlog of tags! Thank you for the tag ☺️

tagging: @doilycoffin, @damnable-bell, @theregoestheneighbourhood, @decadent-prince, and @canthearyouoverthesoundofcanon if y'all feel like it :)

nickname: online, elsi. IRL, it's my initials.

height: 5'6"

last movie I saw: Tremors! I watched it specifically so I could better appreciate The Elko County Adventure, an amazing crossover fic by candle_beck (strong rec! Go read it!). Glad I saw it, it was a hoot.

favourite musician: holy shit how do I choose one? I can't so I won't: David Bowie, Haruomi Hosono, Fishmans, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, and Oasis (for heart/gut reasons)

song stuck in my head: Get Behind Me by Scott Walker

other blogs: they're both pretty much dead now, but I originally kept up a separate blog for my fic (obsolete now that my main is basically an spn blog, so any spn fic will be posted here) and a separate blog for my main fandom when I first joined tumblr, which was Hetalia. (I know, I know)

blogs following: I follow, bafflingly to me, 1,009 blogs. Many many of them are from Ye Olde Days and must be dead by now, because I pretty consistently see the same people on my dash. Feels like less than 100. And I have 587 followers.

amount of sleep: I do not have a regular sleep schedule. But usually 5-10 hours.

lucky number: 4 (even though apparently it's considered a bad omen in East Asia)

what am I wearing: it's cold in my house (no insulation in this clime) and I haven't turned on the heat for the winter yet, so I'm in socks, sweatpants, and a hoodie while in bed under the covers 😂

dream job: writer of some sort, maybe for TV, hopefully in multiple areas (theatre, personal essays, etc). And/or musician

languages: my German is decent, and I can read French. And a smattering of other languages because I love to dabble in language-learning.

play an instrument: guitar, acoustic and electric; some keyboard/piano; I used to play clarinet and saxophone but I haven't touched them in a very long time

favourite song: again, how can I possibly choose just one? But uhhh ok Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie; Harvest Moon by Neil Young; Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths (very hard to choose a favorite Smiths song, this is just one I like a lot); Once in a Lifetime by The Talking Heads; and Pass This On by The Knife to name just a few!

random fact: I know Kung Fu 🥋

[cultofbeatles]

beginners guide to the beatles

 made one of these a long time ago but i'm surprised by how short it was. so here we go again. doing it right this time lol. 

pov: you told a bad joke and now the beatles are judging you. 

john winston lennon. later in his life known as john winston ono lennon. 

born on october 9, 1940 

i believe in astrology bc how does john just happen to be a libra 

when john was four he started living with his aunt mimi who acted more as his mother figure 

his mother, julia, remarried and would visit him quite a bit.

it was julia who taught john how to play banjo and piano. and she bought his first guitar.

they both had a deep love for music and rock n roll 

he never really thought of her as his mother but more as a cool friend i suppose 

aunt mimi was more rough on him and did the disciplining 

his father was never really present growing up and his uncle passed away when he was young 

he thought he was a curse for the men in his family 

he had five half siblings. two of them, julia and jacqueline, he was pretty close to. the other three he barely knew. 

fashion icon.

hated school but loved art 

very early on he was insecure with himself 

teachers always shit on him and said he would go nowhere in life 

he met paul at a church fete on july 6, 1957 

paul taught him how to play guitar properly.

once told paul that he didnt know how paul carried on after his mother died bc he just didn't think he could do it 

john’s mother died from being hit by an off duty policemen. john was seventeen at the time. 

 he took her death really hard and became a bit of a recluse. 

first serious relationship was with cynthia (we stan her) 

once cynthia cut her hair short and he didn't talk to her for two days. 

hate men. kill all men. 

when he asked her to dance at a party she turned him down saying that she was engaged, and so he said “well i didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did i?” 

slapped her once bc he was drunk and another boy was talking to her.

only time her hit her.

read cynthia’s books about john pls. i beg. 

once a psychic told him that he would be shot in the states.

founder of the beatles and also came up with the name.

instruments he could play: guitar, harmonica, rhythm guitar, banjo, keyboard, piano, saxophone, bass guitar, and a little drums. 

main songwriter in the beatles along with paul.

was more open minded to change in the beatles music. 

was insecure in his relationship with paul after a while bc he thought he only needed him for songwriting. 

would bitch about paul all day long but the second anyone else said something about him he’d be on their ass. 

had a lot of issues and needed a good hug. 

suffered from eating disorders, drug addictions, depression, insecurities, and questioned his sexuality bc of the time. 

was super open minded and ahead of his time in many instances. 

once he was called “the fat beatle” and after that he stopped eating as much.

truly loved his first son, julian lennon, and would buy him presents all the time bc he was excited to see him play with them.

“your famous ex husband”

he enjoyed playing monopoly. 

he once claimed that he saw a ufo.

he had written three books but he always wanted to write a children's book.

 the last song he ever performed in front of a live audience was “i saw her standing there.” with elton john.

he was afraid of the dark. 

found out later in his life that he was dyslexic. 

was also legally blind without glasses.

never could catch a break huh.

said that his best lyric ever was “all you need is love” i agree.

the first time yoko and john met was not at her art exhibit but actually when she approached him about giving away songs for free.

wanted to write a musical with paul. 

once a friend dared him to masturbate ten times in one day and he managed to do it nine times.

would hold circle jerks with paul and a few other friends. 

just dudes being dudes. 

went on a holiday with brian epstein, who was gay, and told some people afterward that they did certain sexual things. but we will never know for sure.

yoko says that john was bisexual.

once in an interview he said that he would of married a rich man or woman if he wasn't in the beatles. 

hated his voice on records. would always ask for effects on his voice for final recordings. 

made a film with yoko where it was just his penis going from flaccid to erect for fifteen minutes in slow motion. 

only beatle not to of become a vegetarian while he was alive. 

murdered on december 8, 1980.

gave his autograph earlier in the day to the man who would murder him.

died at the age of 40.

“all my loving” was played while he was at the hospital.

and its spooky bc a lot of times in interviews he would say “when i'm 40..” 

and it’s sad bc he was finally becoming who he truly wanted to be. 

honorable john moments that i love:

“thanks for the purpler hearts” he says while receiving the silver heart 

“you are the first person from liverpool that i've ever seen” “great”

eric lennon on my mind today 

this come together performance where he messed up the lyrics lol

that interview where paul was sick and john keep checking on him 

john lennon speaking nothing but facts 

when he said that he could see the beatles going separate ways but that they'd always come back together.

SHUT UP 

“shut up while he’s talking..”

this interview breaks my heart sometimes 

and this interview is great as well 

sir james paul mccartney 

born on june 18, 1942

if you ever have spare time just check out this man’s natal chart. 

idk how he’s still alive with his chart tbh. 

he has a younger brother named mike and a step sister named ruth. 

his dad thought he was the ugliest baby he’d ever seen when he was born. 

when he was young paul would kill frogs in a way to prepare himself for the war if he ever was drafted. 

the first instrument he ever learned to play was the trumpet.

I don't even want to list every instrument this man can play but trust me when I say it’s a lot.

but for the beatles he mainly did bass, vocals, and piano. sometimes playing the guitar and the drums.

the beatles was just paul moving really, really fast. 

he lost his mother when he was 14 due to surgery for breast cancer.

never really learned how to cope well with loss of a loved one tbh. 

had the cutest chubby cheeks as a kid tbh 

met john and was accepted into his band 

sometimes they'd ditch school together and either work on music or would visit art galleries.

went to paris with john and john bought him all the banana milkshakes that he wanted.

connected over their love and admiration for music, and bc they had both lost their mothers. 

had a girlfriend’s mom who he would make comb his leg hairs. 

was an ass to his first girlfriend.

kill all men again. 

almost had to marry his girlfriend dot bc she was pregnant, but she ended up losing the baby.

was the one who introduced george harrison to john.

practically despised pete best and stuart stutcliffe bc they were bringing the group down. 

got arrested along with pete best bc they lit a condom on fire in hamburg.

still felt awful and a little guilty when stuart died suddenly. 

main force behind the beatles imo. 

without him we’d have not as much beatles music as we do. 

was dating jane asher throughout majority of the sixties. 

when they first met they talked about syrup and paul fell in love.

they broke things off after she walked in on him sleeping with another woman though.

directed magical mystery tour and it was amazing and I don't care what anyone says ok?

when john divorced cynthia he was the only one not scared of john and went against his wishes of not speaking to cynthia.

was a little controlling at times. 

has a good heart though. 

mal evans had to drive him home once after a beatles sessions bc he was crying so hard. 

was talking about getting the band back to touring when john said he was leaving the group. 

everyone kind of turned against him when the beatles were breaking up and i hate it.

he just wanted what was best for the band.

married linda and had a nice little farm. 

we love that story.

linda i'm free thursday if you want to hang out pls.

started up the whole “no meat monday” thing where you don't eat monday on mondays

food meat. not the other kind of meat.

children: james mccartney, stella mccartney, heather mccartney, mary mccartney, and beatrice mccartney. 

rip martha. 

WINGS!! 

he lost linda in 1998 due to cancer.

 cried for a whole year bc of it.

still has dreams about john and says they're nice.

wrote a sad song about john called “here today.”

really loved john. like..he truly, genuinely did. 

want someone to love me like paul does john. 

“think of me every now and then old friend.”

honorable paul moments:

his story about george’s dad 

“john? he was beautiful. very beautiful.”

humpty dumpty rap 

another story about him and george.

his google search video that I watch every week 

this 

george harrison 

born: February 24, 1943 

or at least we think 

bc he use to say that his birthday was february 25, but later started saying it february 24. 

why can't we change our birthdays its not like we picked it 

he was the youngest child.

baby of the family and of the beatles awwww

two older brothers named harry and peter. one older sister named louise.

when george’s mom was pregnant with him she’d play sitar music.

his mom was super supportive of his career choice 

when he was 16 he worked as an electricians apprentice.

his dad kind of hoped he would start a family business out of it.

george said nah

would ride the bus opposite way of his house just to spend time with paul 

headbutted a kid bc he didn't think they were worthy of paul’s friendship 

was brought into the band bc of paul insisting to john 

would follow john around like a lost puppy when he first met him 

once had an eight hour erection. don't ask me how idk he said it.

was 17 when he lost his virginity and the other band members were in the room watching and cheered him when he finished 

most sex craved beatle tbh 

once walked into a girls dressing room and asked if they could stand there so he could masturbate 

he was the first beatle to go to america 

got a black eye for defending ringo once 

would make john and paul take turns sharing rooms with ringo when he first joined the band so that he felt more welcomed 

when ringo left during the white album and then came back george decorated the studio with flowers for him 

during the beatles first recording session he told george martin that he didn't like his tie

became a vegetarian at 22 

favorite candy was jelly beans and purple was his favorite color 

used the phrase “grotty” in the hard days night movie, hated it, but everyone else picked up on the slang 

met his first wife, pattie boyd, on the set of a hard days night 

was turned down by her at first 

they married in 1966

wouldn't let her do modeling stuff and was kind of an ass 

a stylish couple but not the best image for a healthy relationship 

got into eastern religion around 1965 

during the Hamburg days he would eat chicken on stage 

had an affair with ringo’s first wife maureen 

got a divorce from pattie in 1977

in 1978 he married olivia who he stayed with until his death and had one son with. dhani.

was the first beatle to hit a number one single and album. 

was buddies with led zeppelin

inspired their “rain song” 

smashed a piece of cake on john bonham’s head and then was thrown into the pool by him 

he financed and produced films. had a production company.

tom petty said that george never shut up once you started talking to him 

but he was often referred to as “the quiet beatle”

formed another band called the traveling wilburys

he’d answer questions online in the 2000′s and it’s the cutest thing ever and his answers break my heart too.

“what do you miss most about john lennon?” “john lennon.”

in 1999 a schizophrenic person broke into his house and stabbed him 40 times 

thank god olivia was there bc she was the only braincell in the room 

had to get a part of his lung taken out 

died november 29, 2001 from lung cancer 

ashes were scattered into the ganges river 

honorable george moments:

this interview he did with ringo 

“i'm sad bc i can't play guitars with john anymore. but i did that...i know we’ll meet again some day.”

when he invented reaction videos 

“the wind was blowing.” “..blowing my girl?”

“what kind of girl do you like?” “john’s wife.”

sir richard starkey aka ringo starr 

born on july 7, 1940 

oldest member in the group 

has no siblings 

naturally was left handed but his grandma thought it was bad luck so he writes right handed, and plays drums with a right handed kit 

but does everything else left handed

when he was 6 he fell into a two month coma 

was a very sick child 

when he was 13 he was in the hosiptal for tuberculosis and formed a hospital band 

grew up poor 

loves and looked up to his stepfather a lot 

his step father bought him his first drum kit in 1957

wasn't that great in school bc he missed so much of it from being so sick 

he worked for a britain railway for a while 

also served drinks on a day boat for a job 

loves dancing 

Rory storm and the hurricanes 

got his nickname from all the rings he would wear

replaced pete best as the beatles drummer 

dealt with people hating him for a bit bc they liked pete more 

had to style his hair in a bowl cut to be in the band and i'm still mad at them for making him do that shit 

ringo i'm so sorry 

george martin didn't really like his drumming and had a session drummer come in for the first album 

in 1964 he had tonsillitis, pharyngitis, and high fever all at once and had to be in the hospital for a bit.

was worried the beatles would replace him for good 

he’s a cancer don't worry

was the first beatle to try weed 

drummers always go first huh 

married his first wife, maureen, in 1965 

she kissed paul, ringo, and george.

what a champ

honeymoon was ruined by reporters 

was really insecure in his relationship and needed a lot of reassurance 

had a great relationship with pretty much all the beatles 

but a great one with john 

john felt his most relaxed when he was with ringo

was once in a movie with roger daltrey 

divorced maureen in 1975 

his wife now is barbara bach who he married in 1981 

had alcohol problems 

once gotten so drunk that he beat barbara so badly that he thought he killed her 

put himself into rehab after that 

barbara lowkey looks like jan from the office 

children: zak, lee, and jason

zak is the drummer for the band the who 

peace and love 

but don't send me fan mail anymore 

peace and love 

ringo starr and the allstar band (starting 1981)

was the narrator for thomas the tank engine 

will play at paul’s concerts sometimes now for fun 

mad bc he came on stage during paul’s last concert show and it was on my birthday and I couldn't go to it 

honorable ringo moments:

“do you want me to come with you?”

stupid barbara walters 

talking about paul 

giving us a little dance 

[sevendeadlyheadcanons]

Nakaba said that all the sins are good singers so what about seven deadly sins band au headcanons please?

I love question corner so much-

Also you’ll have to forgive my poor knowledge on instruments. Things might not be accurate

-Meliodas is the main singer. He sings surprisingly well

-they hired Elizabeth to be a backing singer/female partner for Meliodas. Diane really wanted the role and was jealous of Elizabeth at first, but then she chilled out when she realised Elizabeth was a good friend

-most of the sins can play more than one instrument, but they mainly stick to a specific one

-Diane plays the drums. She’s a heavy hitter babey

-Ban plays the electric guitar. He’s pretty metal

-King probably plays something softer like the bass or ukulele

-Gowther? He’s a master pianist.

-Merlin? She probably plays the violin or the cello. Or both at once

-Escanor plays wind instruments like the clarinet or a saxophone

-as you can tell they’re split. some have more classy music and some have more pop type. This is what makes them unique

-It’s rare that they’ll all perform together in one song. Some will do a softer love song, and the others will do a pop hit. They’re still a whole band they just have divided interests

-when they do all join together in the same track they somehow make it work

-they have some absolutely mad fans. it’s scary sometimes

-I imagine they all sing in at least one song at some point

-Gowther used to hide his face- he always hid it behind his large piano. He’s recently come out of his shell though.

-escanor always ends up with a red face after playing because of all the air that he’s used.

-Merlin creates her own instruments. Hell ensues.

-There are lots of little couples within the group

-Ban and Meliodas backstage brotp

-they both gang up to bully king

-they do prank wars backstage but the only person they prank is king

-sometimes escanor but they always feel bad afterwards because he’s too polite

-once Gowther had to use a keyboard during a concert for one of the songs and Ban set it to DJ mode. Chaos.

-Ban has a tendency to walk on stage shirtless. The fans go wild at this. King tries to do the same thing. Dead silence throughout the whole venue

-Diane is a feminist icon. Everyone is like female drummer? yes.

-Sometimes they’re pitch perfect but other times? Tone deaf. Awful. Everyone’s ears are bleeding

-Baltra is their manager

-Meliodas and Elizabeth kiss on stage. Everyone is screaming

-Escanor has tripped on stage on multiple occasions

-I was gonna say the Holy Knights would be Kidz Bop but then I realised no. No they wouldn’t.

-at least one person can play the bag pipes

-this whole au is just pure chaotic energy

-every show at least one person is drunk and it’s usually ban

-they probably all have a part to play in actually writing the songs. You’ll know who wrote what because people like Escanor uses more devices and long words where as people like Meliodas write down their McDonalds order and try to make it sound funky

-they compete over who can turn up worst dressed

-Gowther sings exactly like Hatsune Miku somehow

-The best singer is Meliodas and the worst singer is unexpectedly Merlin.

-Elaine comes on stage and everyone is crying. Ban kisses her. Then King kisses Diane. Then Meliodas kisses Elizabeth. Then Escanor kisses Merlin. Everyone is screaming because of all the romance but Gowther is standing there like:

[the-rockafire-explosion]

Alright, what are ur headcanons?😃😃

ok, hi! welcome to my brain, it’s a real fun time. LONG POST WARNING

I day dream, like a lot, and in these daydreams is this world. I have a main character named Miss Mandy Marie, and it kind of follows her and her adventures through life. if you want to know more about her I have a different blog @goldies-fun-emporium where I plan to write about all my OCs. She owns this restaurant called Goldies, and it is FULL of sentient animatronics(they have souls it’s cool) and they can change between being in a human body or an animatronic body. Well through her years of building this little empire, she found out about the Rock-afire Explosion, and fell in love (animatronics are her obsession) so she bought a show, the last existing one. She modified her restaurant to fit them and a munches make believe band on either side of the main stage. It took a few months of creating and running shows before she gave the RAE their sentience and they became almost like every other Goldies bot. except they cannot roam the restaurant in their animatronic form. They turn humans like everyone else, and I spend the most time on them as humans. so some of my head cannons revolve around that. BACKGROUND OVER ON TO THE MAIN SHOW 

Dook LaRue- 

He is my goofy space boi and I love hims

He loves The Beatles and classic rock, and is totally obsessed with the drums

He struggles a lot with anxiety and depression, which causes him to hyper fixate on stuff that makes him happy, i.e. the drums, the band, space

He finds the most comfort in his space costume, and when human will just wear it to wear it

He wears his own merch. like all the time

He is bisexual and in a polyamorous relation ship with Miss Mandy and two other characters of mine. 

He loves kids! and is really good at providing comfort when they are distressed

his singing voice? golden. his drumming skills? golden. his DANCING???? golden. he is a man of talent.

he is the second youngest member in the band, the youngest being Mitzi (he's 22)

Rolfe and Earl

I do love the idea that Rolfe and Dook are half brothers

in Human form Rolfe and Earl are twins

That makes Earl Dooks half brother as well really 

Rolfe is a TERRIBLE dancer, but he plays a lot of instruments

earl can’t really do all that music stuff, but he is a very good actor and comedian

Earl is ace and Rolfe is gay

earl likes punk rock and Rolfe likes disco and pop 

Rolfe is very active on most forms of social media even tiktok and earl low-key high key hates it. 

they are both around 25-30 I am still figuring that out 

Fatz 

The oldest and wisest member of the band - 30-35 

His sexuality is a mystery. no one knows... no one ever will. 

He tolerates kids, but he loves his music and that is his venue

He doesn’t actually hate Rolfe but he wants everyone to think he does

Beach Bear is his best friend because they both have a really laid back energy

he will protect mitzi with his life

Beach Bear

big ol softy 

gay af

he actually does art too, a little bit of everything but mostly drawing and sculpting 

he is 29 

he has seasonal depression and hates winter time

while he is a very talented guitarist and loves the band, his true love is his art 

Mitzi

OK so Mitzi is fresh out of high school and going to college for music theater

she is 17 

she has braces 

she doesn’t know her sexuality or gender pronouns yet

she has a beautiful singing voice

she can DANCE OH MY GOD CAN SHE DANCE

she was not the most popular girl, though she was a cheer leader

she got bullied for being in the band ( she joined when she was 15) 

She has a lot of anxiety and panic attacks

I love her

Billy Bob

BIG ol softy

he short compared to his band mates, who are all 5′9 or over(he is 5′5″)

He had a rough background, and people make fun of him a lot for saying words wrong(he is dyslexic) and not being able to read and write well 

One thing he can read and write really well is music! it’s his creative escape and he writes most of the bands music. while he prefers guitar, he can play drums, keyboard, bass, trumpet, violin and saxophone. 

He loves to be read to, so audio books???? his JAM

He loves everyone and everything and is probably too trusting. 

He is 27-33

Looney Bird

struggles with addiction but the band really helps him though it

I feel like he has some anger issues

isolates himself a lot 

he is pansexual 

in human form he wears a suit and tie most of the time, but has flaming red hair and wears make up(rainbow eyeshadow and highlights to the heavens)

he/they pronouns

is a mystery to children 

will spike up his hair sometimes with WAY too much hair gel 

as a human he has a soothing deep voice 

HE CAN SING but oh boy he cannot dance

Ok I am done for now, but seriously thank you! It feels good to put all this out there. more fan art(maybe more than just Dook but I cannot make any promises) to come! 

[erekuri]

OK BIG BRAIN TIME! Joker Game x BABYMETAL AU

For anyone who may not know who BABYMETAL is, they are a Japanese idol group/metal band with 2 (formerly 3) members. They are popular for the way they combine Japanese idol cuteness with heavy metal, and some have dubbed their style “kawaii metal.” Their music is amazing for real please check it out! 

BABYMETAL are loved in Japan and around the world, and they’ve met many big names in metal/rock such as Metallica, Judas Priest, and Dragonforce. They have choreography in their songs and their performances are really fun to watch :D

So, I was in the shower when this idea came to me. Since originally they had 3 members, I was thinking that the 160 cm trio of Miyoshi, Hatano, and Jitsui would be well-suited for this. BABYMETAL also consists of a band, so the other 5 spies would be in said band, and Yuuki would be the manager. So it’ll look like this:

IDOLS:

Miyoshi (center/lead vocalist)

Hatano (vocalist/rapper)

Jitsui (main vocalist)

BAND:

Kaminaga (drums/waidako)

Tazaki (keyboard/piano)

Fukumoto (lead guitar/violin)

Odagiri (bass guitar/cello/harp/acoustic)

Amari (secondary guitar/trumpet/saxophone) 

IDOLS:

By center, I mean that Miyoshi will almost always be at the center of their photos and is deemed as the ‘main member.’ (In K-pop terms, think of visuals and centers such as Yoona from Girls’ Generation or Kai from EXO.) He’s the member who will usually take the lead in interviews because he’s the oldest, though all 3 seem to have drunk from the fountain of youth lol. Jitsui is the main vocalist, so he gets the most lines as well as the high notes if the song has one. Hatano gets the least, but generally the line distribution is even enough that there are little complaints. He will also rap on occasion (think Linkin Park or Hollywood Undead) but most of their songs are singing-based. Hatano and Miyoshi will also do adlibs while Jitsui is known for his stunning vocal runs. Even though Jitsui is their main vocalist, Miyoshi is the one who gets put in the center of their dance formations more often. 

Ah right, their voices. (Since I am more familiar with K-pop rather than J-pop vocalists, they’ll be my main references here. My apologies in advance.)

Jitsui is the main vocalist. He needs a sweet voice to compliment his sweet face, but it’s also gotta be powerful. Ryeowook from Super Junior would be the perfect fit here, because it’s got this sweet tone to it but also nice and clear and the high notes would sound like a literal choir of angels. 

Miyoshi’s vocal color would be like Suho from EXO. Clear and sweet and comforting. His falsettos are the most flawless thing you’ve ever heard, and the emotion he puts into his singing is on another level. His voice is, in a word, PRETTY.

Since Hatano does both vocals and rap, I’m thinking his vocal color would be like Key from SHINee. With that higher tone he has, it suits Hatano’s appearance and personality wonderfully. Both his singing and rapping are amazing and he likes to scream sometimes to hype up the crowd lol.

(All vocalists mentioned are from SM Entertainment groups,,, damn, I really said SINGERS ONLY and I really like all 3 choices I made omg. MY MIND.)

(In the real BABYMETAL, member Su-metal sings the majority but I am not deep enough in the fandom to know how fans feel about it. I don’t mind too much since the songs slap either way lmao. And I think the balance is nice but that’s just me. However, for the 160cm trio, I had to even it up because I am someone who typically prefers more even line distributions when it comes to idol groups.)

As for their dancing, BABYMETAL’s choreography is a unique one where 1 is center and the other 2 are backup. For my AU, however, I’d make the choreo more like EXO-CBX in that it’s suited for 3 people, while also taking notes from Super Junior (for their earlier metal songs) or Dreamcatcher (for their famous ‘anime-style’ music.) 

BAND:

Because they’re a metal group, Kaminaga will almost always be on the drum kit, and by God he is good at it. The drum kit he uses is one you’ll see in most metal bands, but he also uses an auxiliary drum kit (which is electrical and has sensors and stuff) for the group’s more experimental tracks. When they want to go something more traditional or epic, he’ll bring out his wadaiko (traditional Japanese drum) and go at it. He’s also the unofficial leader of the band. 

Tazaki plays the keyboard. I personally envision Tuomas from Nightwish when I think of this position, but there are other keyboard players in metal bands out there that are fun to watch. Tazaki is generally a calm person, but when he plays he headbangs like crazy. He’ll play the piano when they do softer songs, and his pretty fingers are mesmerizing to watch. Oh yeah, and the keyboard he uses is a synthesizer due to the underlying ‘pop’ aspect in their music, considering it’s for an idol group.

Fukumoto would be the main/lead guitarist. He’d get pretty much all the solos (though Amari might join in as the secondary guitarist). He’s hailed as one of the best guitarists of all time, and he plays a major role in the musical arrangements of the songs. He’s also a prodigy when it comes to the violin, which he’ll sometimes use instead of his guitar for a more ‘symphonic’ sound. In reality, he’ll switch between them as he sees fit. 

Odagiri is the reliable bass guitar; underrated, but without them, the song just isn’t the same. As the bass player, he helps to balance out the guitars. He plays the cello when they want a jazzier theme or an orchestra kind of sound, and when they go the traditional route, in comes the harp. When the boys want to sing an acoustic version of their songs to show off their vocals, Odagiri will be the one to play the acoustic guitar to accompany them.

Amari is the secondary guitarist, and arguably the most versatile player in the band. He can not only play the electric guitar, but he can also play the trumpet and the saxophone. Their jazz songs would require them to be in the same song, but he can switch between the two easily enough, provided he’s given enough time to transition (otherwise he’ll simply use a pre-recording of one while playing the other live.) When a song requires both violin and guitar, Amari will take the role of the lead guitar while Fukumoto plays violin.

(The instruments mentioned are their main ones, though I’m sure they could all play more if they wanted to. I just don’t have the brain cells to spare for this lol. Maybe some other time I can give more thought to the band, but I’m ok with what I have for now. Besides, most metal bands will have 1 person per instrument or will bring in a whole orchestra, so what I have is farfetched ngl, and yet I like it because the D-Agency boys are just so talented at anything they try hehe)

OTHERS:

As stated earlier, Yuuki would be their manager. He is known to all as just “Yuuki.” He is the one who brought the group together, as the trio were originally part of an idol group but were mostly in the back, while the others were notable musicians who had no band to belong to. In his prime, he was an acclaimed songwriter and producer, but he’s also super happy doing what he does as a manager/producer for the 160cm trio and the band. He fought tooth and nail for the formation of this group and is more than satisfied with their explosive popularity. He will often clash with the CEO of their label, IG Productions, because he refuses to let them hold back the band’s growth. 

Now, y’all may be wondering… where is Sakuma??? 

Sakuma, Gamo Jirou, Yuriko Nogami, and Miyoko Yasuhara are all well-respected actors under the same agency (not IG but another one lol.) 

Yuriko and Miyoko are mostly in theatre, but Yuriko is a recurring favorite in J-dramas while Miyoko is popular in movies. 

Jirou is super versatile, and he’d be kinda like Robert Pattinson in the sense that he will often make fun of the stuff he’s been in. He likes to take on bizarre roles that test his limits as an actor, and his range is pretty much unmatched. He’s recognizable but people will still lose themselves in his brilliant acting. He is more often seen in movies, but sometimes he’ll star in a drama, especially one where he plays a villain/antagonist or a second-lead.

Sakuma is another J-drama favorite, and he has a legion of fangirls; as of late, those fangirls include aunties who love his clean and respectable image. He made headlines once when he shaved his head for a role as a soldier because it was such a shock that he looked as handsome as ever. He loves being in movies with a lot of angst/sad endings, and don’t get me started on how sad some of the dramas he’s in can be. And as a bonus, his characters almost always die and oof it really breaks people’s hearts. Occasionally, he’ll take on a more light-hearted role such as a friendly teacher. 

Sakuma and Gamo are both openly gay, and many fangirls will wish for them to find boyfriends because they want these actors to be happy. They have starred in movies together and their friendship off-screen can be considered ‘iconic.’ Fans ship them platonically. 

Sakuma would also be a major fanboy of the D-Agency band, and Miyoshi is easily his favorite member. He attends their concerts in disguise because he has a reputation, damn it. One time he dragged his actor friends along, and Gamo fell for Jitsui HARD. Meanwhile, Yuriko eventually starts a romance with the bassist, Odagiri, when she wanders backstage by accident on her way to the restroom. (Sakuma is jealous as fuck that she managed to get backstage but he won’t admit it.)

Alain, Marie, Jean, and Johann are all foreign celebrities, who are all wildly popular in Japan. Marie would be a popular actress who travels to Japan to participate in a film (directed by Jean, a highly-respected director) that takes place there. It’d be a collaboration project between a French studio and a Japanese one. Alain would be a famous pop artist in France, and his songs can be meaningful and uplifting or super raunchy and inappropriate as hell, no in-between. He goes to Japan because he’s interested in their newest idol/heavy metal fusion group. Johann is a talented lyricist/producer and he prefers to write songs for other people and avoid the drama that comes with being a celebrity. Alain drags him to Japan because why not?

END:

Back to the band, their debut song would be ‘Reason Triangle’. ‘Double’ would be for a J-drama collab in which Sakuma finally gets to meet his favorite group (???) idk but their discography would also include songs like:

Taking Off - ONE OK ROCK

Fukagyaku Replace - My First Story

Take Off - 2PM

Cosmic Railway - EXO

CORE PRIDE - UVERworld

Signal- TK from Ling tosite sigure

FEED THE FIRE - coldrain

Kyouran Hey Kids!! - THE ORAL CIGARETTES

And that’s all I can think of for this AU. I can’t believe I wrote so much but this idea just wouldn’t leave my head so I had to write it all down. I hope y’all enjoy my ramblings lol. 

[hazkiwislutt]

chapter two: weird dreams, lots of crying, and first dates

{ hi friends!! it’s athena, and here is the second chapter of my new series, chasing love. in this series, y/n is famous, and harry is still famous. y/n is twenty-one right now, and harry is twenty-nine! it’s not as long as the last chapter, but i hope you still like it! there’s mentions of abusive relationships in this chapter, but nothing graphic, so please be careful when reading! thank you, and see you next sunday for chapter three. i loaf u! }

“Harry, I know it’s late, but I need you to come over. Right now.”

Harry had dropped Y/N off at Hannah’s baby shower three days ago, and in the time between then and now, they had texted nonstop. Harry wasn’t normally glued to his phone, but talking to Y/N was fun, and her spontaneous energy was infectious. Within the span of a day, she could send him a deep-fried meme, followed by a cute kitten picture, and then she’d beat him in a game of iMessage pool, but she’d never gloat about it.

They hadn’t fully addressed what had taken place the night before the baby shower, except for two pointed comments the morning after, so Harry’s eyes, which were previously droopy from having been woken up so abruptly, were now large and alert as he processed the fact that Y/N was calling him. At 2:47 in the morning. To come over to her house. Right now.

“Right now?” His voice was gravelly and nearly too deep to understand, but on the other side of the line, it made Y/N shudder.

“Yes, right now. Is that okay? It’s important.” This had Harry fumbling around in his bed like a crazed slug, the phone pressed tightly between his shoulder and his ear, as he tried desperately to untangle himself from his sheets.

“A’right, love. Be there in a bit.” He heard her sigh in relief, before thanking him and hanging up. Harry hopped around the room, trying to shove one leg into his grey sweats while simultaneously reaching for a black shirt hanging from the foot of his bed that he’d discarded a day or two before. He quickly dashed into the bathroom, brushing his teeth as effectively as he could before gargling with mouthwash and shoving his phone and keys into his pockets.

As he started his car, he deliberated on how fast he could get there without blowing himself to smithereens. He backed out of his garage, a funny expression on his face, because it seemed that only Y/N could make him think such intense, but silly, thoughts. He wondered if that was a problem.

…

“Harry, get in, quick!” As soon as the door opened, Harry was seized by the front of his shirt and whisked inside Y/N’s house before he had the chance to open his mouth and greet her. She didn’t even turn around as she slammed her front door shut and quickly dragged him down the hall. Harry thought she was taking him into the living room, but instead, she turned down a smaller hallway that led to a single room, the door propped open a sliver.

“Love, calm down, s’the matter?” He was torn between a mix of curious and nervous, because Y/N would not tell him what was happening, or why they were going into this small room off the main parts of her house, or why she’d grabbed him and whisked him away so suddenly. She pushed the door open, still clutching Harry’s hand tightly in hers, before stepping into the dimly lit room, which Harry realized was Y/N’s music room, as his eyes adjusted to the low lamplight.

It was painted the same mauve color as her kitchen, except instead of white accents, there were pale yellow ones around the trim of the room. There was a grey sofa in the middle of the room that was perpendicular to the door, dilapidated and worn, but large enough to seat three people comfortably, that sat atop an ivory shag rug.

A black grand piano sat in one corner of the room behind the sofa, facing away to the wall, while a full drum set occupied the opposite corner, facing the sofa. Directly in front of the sofa, there was a desk that held a computer, a plug-in keyboard for mixing, and a microphone. On the side of the desk, in yet another corner, various instruments, such as saxophones and trumpets, were put on stands. Harry wondered if she played all of those instruments. He couldn’t recall anything she said in interviews about what instruments she played.

The walls were decorated by an extreme amount of guitars, basses, and ukuleles, pegged on the walls in arbitrary order, but they looked as if they were exactly where they were meant to be. Even Harry himself couldn’t say he had half as many instruments as she had, and he was both amazed and impressed.

Y/N plopped down onto the couch, picking her feet up and tucking them under her bum, as she reached around the side of it and pulled up a simple acoustic guitar with light brown wood grain and nylon strings. Harry followed, tentatively sitting down next to her, still a bit put off by the fact she hadn’t said anything to him yet, as she situated it on her lap. He looked at her in the dim light: her eyes were glistening tiredly, her hair was incredibly mussed and frazzled in a cute, but very noticeable way, and her pajamas were terribly rumpled, as if she had taken a roll shortly before she answered the door. Before Harry could ask what was wrong, she’d already opened her mouth.

“Okay, so, hear me out. I was having the worst luck falling asleep, but when I finally did, I had a dream about you. I was sleeping, like, dream-me was sleeping, and you came into my bedroom wearing my polka-dot onesie for whatever reason, but by the way, when we’re done here, I want you to try it on, ‘cause the pink made your eyes look exceptionally bright, and I want to see for myself,” Y/N paused her mile-a-minute speech, fingers twiddling together as she furrowed her brow as if she were musing the idea.

It was silent for a tick, and although Harry had met Y/N twice in person, and both times she’d been so unpredictable it nearly made him dizzy, he still couldn’t get a handle on how… how… out-there, she really was. He loved it, but his still-fuzzy brain could not keep up with how fast she was talking. Just as he was about to clear his throat to prompt her to continue, she’d already beat him to it.

“Anyways, you woke me up, nearly broke down my bedroom door because I’d run out of Spam, which confused me a bit, ‘cause you probably haven’t had Spam ever, Mr. Health Machine. So, we went downstairs, got in my car, without even brushing or changing, and went to Target. But, the doors wouldn’t open! You know how they’ve got the automatic swing doors? Yeah, those weren’t opening, so you began to sing a song. Not one of yours, or mine, or anyone’s that I know of. But the doors opened, and I woke up, because that song was so… so…” Y/N began gesticulating wildly as she struggled for words to continue her thoughts, “The melody was beautiful and when I woke up, I couldn’t remember any of the words but I just remember waking up with a smile on my face.”

Y/N sat back against the couch, seemingly waiting for Harry’s response. She was looking at him expectantly, mindlessly walking her hands up and down the fretboard in an array of chords. Harry’s mind caught up to her words, and he rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he prepared a coherent answer.

“S’an interesting dream, innit, love? What’d yeh have before yeh went t’bed?” Harry eyed her as he talked. Y/N looked up from where she was concentrating on a certain chord, staring him dead in the eye.

“A shot of whiskey and an orange. I haven’t slept more than two hours between yesterday and today.” Harry tilted his head, concerned, and perplexed, but he couldn’t help laughing a little.

“God, we have got to stop meeting up when yeh drunk, and yeh need to get more sleep, love.” He laid his head back against the couch, eyes still trained on Y/N. He couldn’t help but feel as if something were a bit different in the way she was acting, but it was also a little past three in the morning, and Harry didn’t trust his sleepy brain.

“I’m not drunk, and I normally do!” She reached over and pinched his waist playfully, which made him gasp and recoil, swatting her hand lightly.

“A’right, moving on, so I sang a song, an’ yeh couldn’t remember it when yeh woke up?” Harry suddenly snorted comically, kicking his feet up under him onto the couch similar to Y/N. He began laughing terribly hard, and Y/N couldn’t help but laugh alongside him, although he hadn’t said anything yet. They were doubled over, properly wheezing, and Harry was sure he’d shed a tear or two.

“God,” Harry was barely able to talk through his laughter, “S’like tha’ one song I did w’the boys a while back… I can’t even remember the- Oh! Best Song Ever! Fuck, it was so bleeding long ago, I was like… I was nineteen when we released tha’ bloody song, an’ now I’m twenty-nine? How the fuck did tha’ happen? Ten years ago? No fuckin’ way.”

Their laughter died down as Harry drank in some memories he’d forgotten existed for a moment. Maybe he’d been so deep in thought that Y/N had to reach over and grasp his hand, because that’s exactly what she did, and it was all Harry needed to come back to her. He looked at her, squeezing her hand in hers and smiling at her reassuringly.

“For the record,” Y/N responded, “I screamed bloody murder the first time it came on the radio from how proud I was of you all, and I didn’t even know you yet. It’s a nice song, right?” Harry grinned bashfully and squeezed her hand again. Both were painfully aware that they were almost completely out of it from how much sleep they were missing, and it was causing them to go on an insane amount of tangents, but they couldn’t find it in themselves to care. They simply enjoyed the feeling of having the other around.

“Means a lot, love. Now, m’sorry for getting off topic. So, yeh had this dream, came down into this room, and… Called me?” Harry raised his brow in question, and Y/N clutched his hand tighter, nodding her head up and down vigorously.

“Yeah, so, I came down here and started playing around, trying to recreate the melody, but I wanted you to hear it, for obvious reasons, and because I didn’t want to take advantage of dream-you’s work. So, here you are, and here I am, about to play what you came up with in my dream. I added the lyrics, but they’re a load of shit, and I’ll probably clean them up later.” She finished punctually, sitting back and situating her fingers along the fretboard, before breathing in and beginning to pick softly at the strings.

The words were beautiful; they painted pictures of a harsh love and a heartbreak that Harry didn’t believe he could swallow at such a late hour, but he did, because it was Y/N singing this beautiful melody about something so sad, and he had the honor of being the first person to hear it, even if it was three in the morning and Harry’s throat was constricting quite fast from the onslaught of emotions. His eyes watered and he gasped disbelievingly, swiping at them gently, as Y/N continued to sing, eyes shut and forehead creased as she crooned out the tune she’d strung together.

It was a short segment of a song that he knew could be turned into something amazing, but as Y/N muted the guitar strings and laid it back down where she’d retrieved it on the side of the sofa, she turned her whole body toward him and grasped his hands once more: something Harry realized she was comfortable with doing with him, and it just made the intensity of what he’d witnessed more prominent.

Harry couldn’t stop the tears for whatever reason; the words brought emotions to the surface he couldn’t even remember feeling, and it was Y/N who was singing those words, and she was just so sweet and lovely, Harry’s heart just couldn’t take it. Y/N scooted closer, gently rubbing his back as Harry wiped his eyes.

“What do you think,” she asked softly, as if anything louder than the way she was asking would break him.

“God, yeh so bloody awesome. Yeh… s’actually a little bit insane.” Harry let out a short laugh, squeezing both of her hands in his, and his heart melted as she looked down shyly.

“Thank you, but Harry, why are you crying?” Y/N moved even closer, eliminating any and all space between where they were sitting, before hesitantly wrapping an arm around his shoulders, allowing her to rest her head atop his and him to slot into her side as she continued to rub his back.

“Honestly,” Harry said, “I don’t have a clue. What did yeh write that song about? S’really, really sad.” Y/N breathed in deeply as she contemplated whether she should be candid about something so serious at this time, but she figured there was nothing she couldn’t tell Harry if he was willing to get out of bed and drive over to her house so late at night.

“My first boyfriend was abusive,” she began, halting for a short period of time before recomposing and continuing, “My next boyfriend was also abusive, and so was the girlfriend I had after, and the boyfriend I had after that… And when I’d finally broken the cycle, with that guy I told you about at Niall’s party, who wasn’t abusive, but wasn’t a saint either, all of the things I’d experienced had been my main muse.”

Harry sat up from where he was tucked into Y/N, pulling back to look at her eyes which seemed a little more dull in color, but a lot brighter in shine because it looked like she was about to cry herself, and her mouth, which was set in a grim line that held an air of determination rather than discouragement. Harry was amazed. He was put in awe of someone so unique and strong and free, and he lunged for her, cradling her close and rocking her back in forth.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” He spoke lowly, stroking the back of her head as he held her tightly.

“I told you I was tired of chasing love,” she said back, nestling her face into Harry’s neck as she let a few stray tears fall. It had been awhile since she’d told someone about those things, albeit just a very watered down version, but she was glad that someone was Harry, who seemed to have a knack for making her heart do funny things and who drove to her house just because she asked him to in the dead of night.

It was quiet in the room as the two held onto each other, until Y/N pulled back to look at him, but held his hands in hers, and said, “It’s close to four now. I’m sorry for making you drive here so late.”

Harry shook his head adamantly, “No, don’t apologize. Wouldn’t have… Wouldn’t have come if I didn’t want to see yeh. While we’re being honest, it seems like lately seeing yeh is all I want to do.”

Y/N startled a bit, Harry could feel it in the way she tightened her grip and relaxed. She stared at him, a sort of shy wonderment in her eyes as he wondered what she was thinking. Just like last time, it was night time, and they were in close proximity, but Harry had no alcohol running through his bloodstream.

He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that sober Harry felt the same way about Y/N that drunk Harry did, even if he did try to suppress the strong feelings of interest he had in her since the night he’d met her.

“Seeing you is something I like doing, as well.” Y/N responded to him quietly, smiling a little bit. The conversation lulled to a stop once again, and Harry decided that comfortable silence with Y/N was not so overrated.

“It’s almost four, and I think I’m a bit tired, Harry.” Y/N said, suddenly, voice a little more soft at the edges and a little scratchy with fatigue.

“A’right, let m’carry yeh up to yeh bed then, since tha’ seems like all yeh need me for.” Harry laughed as she softly pinched his cheek, before he got up to turn off the lamp. It seemed as if she was too tired to object, and Harry didn’t mind.

He scooped her up, and she instinctively tucked her head into his neck as he walked down the hall and up the stairs to her bedroom. Harry thought it was terribly funny that every encounter they’d had ended with someone’s bed, but as he looked down at Y/N’s eyes that were fluttering open and shut with every bounce of Harry’s step, he decided it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, especially since he got to see her struggle to stay awake in such an adorable manner.

Once in her bedroom, Harry gently rested her in one arm and his opposite hip in order to pull back the sheets before adjusting her to place her down softly. He made sure half of her body was covered, and the over half was bare to the air, just like she’d liked the first night he’d met her.

“Get in,” Y/N yawned, “You’re not driving back so late and you give such nice cuddles. Please come lay with me.” She tiredly patted the empty space next to her with a soft hand and well, Harry couldn’t say no.

He walked around to the other side of the bed, gently settled into her sheets, and pulled her toward him, causing her to hum and sigh contentedly. She smelled like everything good and kind in the world, and sleep began to seem like such a wonderful paradise until-

“Turn around,” Y/N urged, before rolling over to face him. Harry obliged, turning over sluggishly, and he felt her arms envelope him from behind, filling him with a sense of contentment.

Cuddling with Y/N is one of Harry’s favorite new things, he thinks sleepily as he lets the pulse of her heart and sound of her breathing lull him to sleep.

He hopes he never has to go without it from now on.

…

When Y/N woke up, Harry wasn’t in bed next to her. The sheets were cold, and the sunlight was more intense that it would have been if it were earlier in the morning, so she assumed it was later. Somehow, she wasn’t filled with dread and negative thoughts didn’t cloud her head. Even if her past experiences had done a number on her, she believed wholeheartedly Harry wouldn’t have simply run back to his house. She knew he was somewhere.

She swung her legs out of bed, yawning and stretching exaggeratedly before hoisting herself up and padding down the stairs. She didn’t hear any bustling, but the smell of food led her into the kitchen. Harry wasn’t there, but instead, a stack of pancakes, sunny-side up eggs, and bacon were arranged nicely on two separate plates, as well as cut up fruit. Y/N’s heart flipped a bit inside, and she smiled wide, biting the inside of her cheek as she fought to wipe it off her face.

Y/N decided that she knew exactly where Harry was, so she turned on her heel and walked down the hall into her music room. Harry was sat on the couch, his back to her, simply looking around at the room. She noticed he had pulled back the yellow curtains that had covered the windows in the room last night, washing the room in the LA summer sun.

“You cooked.” Y/N’s voice didn’t startle him. He turned around, smiling at her, before responding plainly, “I did.” She walked over to him and kneeled in front of where he sat, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them.

“Thank you.” She gazed up at him with so much sincerity that it nearly made Harry’s heart stop. “You always take care of me.”

“F’course, love. S’one of my new favorite things to do, besides cuddling yeh.” She giggled, nodding her head lightly. “Yeh play all these?” Harry gestured around the room to the instruments that glittered in the sunlight.

“I know my way around all of them, but I’m not good at all of them. It’s one thing to know how to play them, it’s another thing to play them well. Like, the trumpet. I can play notes, but I’m no Louis Armstrong.” She paused, before continuing, “I was in band and choir in high school. Music is all I’ve ever been good at. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

She said it so reverentially that it moved Harry, and suddenly, the feelings he’d been so good at suppressing bubbled to the surface, his mouth opening before his mind could put a stop to it.

“Go out on a date with me.” The words squeaked out of him, and his eyes widened as Y/N sat back a bit and looked at him intently. Harry suddenly thought that the sun’s light began to be a little too hot for his liking as he began to sweat lightly. “Doesn’t have to mean anything f’yeh don’t want it to, an’ yeh don’t have to! M’sorry if tha’ came out as a demand instead of a question, don’t want to make yeh uncomfortable-”

“Sure.” That one word halted Harry so quickly, he nearly got whiplash from it. She squeezed his hands, that she hadn’t let go of, which made Harry internally cringe because it meant she could probably feel how clammy they were. She looked up at him with a smirk, before getting up and sitting next to him on the couch.

“Really?” Harry was struck, gnawing his bottom lip worriedly as if she hadn’t heard him right and didn’t know what she was actually agreeing to.

“I said, sure. I’ll go on a date with you. I’ve been thinking lately that I’ve got a strong interest in you and I,” she breathed in as if the next words would be a laborious task to get out, “and I… Maybe we could see just how strong they are.” Harry just stared at her, still dumbfounded, so she continued, “It doesn’t have to be serious if we don’t want it to be.”

Harry began to nod his head slowly, before moving closer to her, looking her directly in the eyes.

“How about this, love,” he started, once he’d gotten his thoughts in order and his hands became a little less sweaty, “It doesn’t have to be serious, yet.”

His emphasis on the last word filled Y/N with hope as she looked back at him. “Yet” implied that Harry wanted it to be serious down the line, and it made Y/N’s insides turn to mush. Despite the past experiences she’d had, Y/N couldn’t find it in herself to be terrified of the prospect of starting something with Harry.

Not when she was looking into sea-green eyes littered with specks of gold, not when below those sea-green eyes, beautifully pink lips stretched shyly around a grin, and definitely not when those beautifully pink lips were being chewed nervously, as if he was worried he’d said the wrong thing. Y/N couldn’t find it in herself to be scared of chasing love with Harry. Not at all.

“Deal.”

{ @lovableah }

[doomedandstoned]

THE ROADBURN DIARIES

~By Willem Verhappen~

Photographs by Sally Townsend

Preface

When Billy asked me to review Roadburn Festival 2019 for Doomed & Stoned, I was a bit hesitant. Live reviews have never been my specialty and I prefer to enjoy shows instead of being critical. However, when he suggested a diary-style review, I got the idea to do just that; write a diary.

I went all out and paid a whopping two Euros and some change to buy a notebook. After four days of Roadburn, it will probably be as wrecked as I expect to be, but hopefully it will still be readable. [In hindsight it was money well spent, as the notebook survived Roadburn without too much damage.] Whether its pages will be literary gold or the drunken ravings of a madman, only time will tell. The truth will probably be somewhere in the middle. [The fact that I had not been feeling well all week and decided to drive to Tilburg by car each day probably helped me not fucking this up, though.]

Day 1

14:30 -- Ticket booth

The sun is out, Crypt Trip's Haze County was blasting through my car speakers on the way here and the queue to get my wristband went smooth. That's about as good a start as it can get. Sadly, my first dilemma of the day is already coming up: See Myrkur perform her Folkesange set or Bismuth. For now I'll just sit and wait in the sun for my friends T and S to arrive.

Tanya Byrne of Bismuth

16:30 -- Studio Tilburg

We compromised. We started Roadburn with Bismuth engulfing us in the epic 'The Slow Dying Of The Great Barrier Reef' in the Hall of Fame. Sadly the band had some technical issues which fucked up the dynamics in the beginning, but otherwise it was an intense experience.

before the end of the Bismuth set, we moved on to the main stage. On the way there, we ran into some friends who decided to join us to see Myrkur. The Scandinavian folk songs were moving and well performed, but not what we needed, so we set our sights for Vile Creature, who were preparing to destroy the Patronaat.

Vic of Vile Creature

Arriving outside, we noticed that we weren't the only ones. The queue to the Patronaat was leading pretty much up to the Cul de Sac. Since the weather was still nice, we decided to go for a beer in the sun instead.

19:05 -- Veemarktstraat

Molasses was something I had been looking forward to, since it was for a large part a The Devil's Blood reunion. Their set was in general an honest and loving tribute to TDB leader Selim Lemouchi. At some points though, the band seemed possessed by Selim himself. I desperately hope they will release this as a live record. [Later, at the merch I discovered that the band had already recorded an EP. That satisfies me for now, but I still need a live record!]

Farida Lemouchi of Molasses

After that intense show, it was time to get some food. I decided to go for some Vietnamese street food. A good choice, but I should have been more careful with the sambal. I love that stuff, but a full bite at once was a bit much.

19:30 -- Green Room balcony

Luckily, I was just in time to hear the last, hauntingly beautiful song of Lingua Ignota. I had a hard time getting in and when I managed to get in, I couldn't get closer than the back of the balcony. Only when the show was over, I could see that she sat behind her keyboard in the middle of the Green Room. An eccentric choice that befits the woman.

Kristen Hayter of Lingua Ignota

21:20 -- Ladybird Skatepark

Emma Ruth Rundle was more Doomed & Stoned appropriate than I expected. Last time she did a solo show, but this time she brought her full band. Her songs were sometimes dark and doomy, sometimes rocking, but always unique.

Emma Ruth Rundle

But the best kept secret of today are certainly the heavy psych astronauts of Mythic Sunship. Even though it's not crowded, they know how to throw a party on a skatepark. [Mythic Sunship was the first band to be programmed on the Skatepark, but during the weekend more bands were scheduled to perform on this special location. More on that later.]

22:45 -- Koepelhal

I'm not sure why a band like Midnight is performing at Roadburn, since it's pretty much the odd one out this year, but I'm not complaining. I really enjoyed their filthy, sexually laden mix of Venom and Motörhead sleaze. And judging from the large crowd that gathered in the Koepelhal, I wasn't the only one.

00:40 -- Main Stage

Post rock is a hit or miss for me, but the combination of guitars and classical instruments often brings a smile to my face. The latter convinced me to watch MONO perform their Hymn to the Immortal Wind record, supported by the Jo Quail Quartet. I'm happy I did this, since the show was pure aural bliss. Rarely have I heard such a natural mix of metallic guitars and classical instruments. Although it certainly wasn't boring, the floating melodies did make me a bit sleepy.

2:xx -- Eindhoven

I guess I went full circle today. I started with Crypt Trip and ended with them as well. After MONO, these Texan rockers were exactly what I needed. Their country infused hard rock really got my energy levels back to par. Then again, anyone who can stand still during a Crypt Trip show, must be dead. It was also very nice to see my Doomed & Stoned colleague Calvin again. Roadburn is off to a good start.

Day 2

15:25 -- 013

T, S and I started our second day at Roadburn queuing up for Gold. I lost sight of the Dutch band after being disappointed by their second record, when they traded in their occult rock for a more post rock sound. Today, however, I was not disappointed at all. Their pounding post black/punk/rock really grabbed me by the balls. Charismatic frontwoman Milena Eva and her accomplices are back on my radar.

I'm currently enjoying one of the three sets of Seven That Spells. Between all the avant garde stuff, it's nice to see some proper heavy psych/stoner rock. Very well executed!

Milena Eva of Gold

17:00 -- Ladybird Skatepark

Between all the good stuff, Triptykon was my most anticipated concert of the festival. As I said, I'm a sucker for metal mixed with classical music, so I wouldn't want to miss the Swiss band performing with the renowned Metropole Orkest, the world's leading pop orchestra. Today they are playing something heavier, namely the requiem penned by Tom G. Warrior. The first and third parts date back to the Celtic Frost days, namely Into The Pandemonium (1987) and Monotheist (2006). The piece never had a middle section, until now.

Tom Gabriel Warrior and Vanja Slajh of Triptykon

The show wasn't perfect. There were some flaws here and there and at certain moments it felt like the orchestra was overtaking the band. Altogether it was an impressive performance, but somewhere I feel like there could have been more. Still a highlight, though.

I'm currently enjoying some surprise sludgy goodness of Vile Creature, while the queue for the Hall of Fame is reaching new lengths while A.A.Williams is performing there as part of the Holy Roar x Roadburn showcase.

19:55 -- Studio Tilburg

After getting my eardrums destroyed by Vile Creature, it was time for a beer with friends. Consequently, that meant I missed Conjurer, but I did manage to see the last half hour of Anna Von Hausswolff on the main stage. On record I find her music very calming, but live the tiny lady and her band deliver a massive tidal wave of sound. 'The Mysterious Vanishing of Electra' was even more impressive than on record.

22:20 - Koepelhal

After enjoying watching Calvin struggle with a massive burger from the Studio café and between the neck snapping sets of Svalbard and Pijn (both part of the Holy Roar showcase), I conquered my first queue at the Koepelhal. This was for the collaboration between artist in residence Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle. It was well worth the effort. This noisy matrimony sounded exactly as you'd expect from the two factors.

Bryan Funck of Thou

3:xx -- Eindhoven

After Pijn's set, it was straight off to the Patronaat to grab a good spot for another show I highly anticipated. That turned out to be a good decision, since I heard afterwards that the queue for Messa turned out to be huge.

My love for these Italians stems from their ability to make old school doom sound fresh again. The band manages this through the incorporations of jazz elements, as well as sporadic black metal outbursts. Today, the band brought along a saxophone player, which truly added an extra dimension to their music.

Day 3

17:20 -- 013

Today we started off with Have A Nice Life. The new wave was enjoyable, but we had other priorities, for Wolvennest was about to perform their latest effort, Void, in its entirety. The Belgian band went all out for this show, bringing several guest musicians, as well as brand new visuals. Musically, Wolvennest definitely made a step up from their debut, WLVNNST. Their black metal with psychedelic and doom influences pleased the many people who came to witness this ritual. The only negative comment one could have, is that the altar looked very small on the large main stage.

Henrik Palm is no stranger to most Roadburners. The Swede used to be a member of In Solitude and Ghost. You can clearly hear this in his solo work, but his eclectic rockers always feel unique. I remain with only one question. Why the early Judas Priest videos?

19:20 -- Ladybird Skatepark

I'm not much of a fan of most of the bands from the Exile on Mainstream roster, but Treedeon I had to see. These Germans make for some noisy, primitive doom, which is right up my alley. There are some clear Conan vibes here, but the double vocals make it just a tad more brutal.

23:15 -- Koepelhal

I always enjoy good times with good people, so I was happy to join a small Doomed & Stoned meetup with Calvin and Sally [whose photos add some color to this article]. Contrary to my instincts, I left my friends behind to make it in time for what is probably the highlight of this year’s Roadburn. Coming near the 013 was like walking into a coffee shop (the Dutch kind), with the smell of weed greeting you from far away. Not surprising, since it wouldn't be long before the almighty Sleep would perform their classic record Holy Mountain in one go. When I arrived, some 20 odd minutes before the show, the hall was already crowded, with people queuing up, not more than five minutes later.

It was quite the magical experience to hear one of my all-time favorite records being performed live. The first notes of 'Dragonaut' already gave me goosebumps and headbanging became a priority for nearly two hours. Sleep performing 'The Clarity' and a part of 'Dopesmoker' surely was an extra treat.

Al Cisneros of Sleep

4:xx -- Eindhoven

Doolhof was a typical case of the right band at wrong time. The drone outfit, with Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom and Sumac fame in its ranks, sounded highly intense and mesmerizing, but after Sleep, I was looking for something more energetic.

Luckily, I received a push message after the Sleep show, saying that Thou would perform a special set at the Skatepark. There had been rumours that the band would perform a set of Misfits covers somewhere during the weekend and this was it. A couple hundred people had shown up and the band was going through classics like 'Die, Die My Darling' and 'Hybrid Moments' like the audience was going through beers.

This set was absolute mayhem with the crowd moving as one mass and there was pretty much constant crowd surfing. The band was joined by Emma Ruth Rundle on a couple of songs, and for their final song, 'Last Caress', they were joined by Converge/Old Man Gloom's Nate Newton and Gilead Media chief Adam Bartlett. The former even went stage diving. If anyone was doubting why Thou is the artist in residence this year, they get it now.

Recharged by the insane show I had just witnessed, it was time for some after-partying in the basement of the 013 until the lights came on.

Day 4

Up until a few years ago the Roadburn Sunday was more of an after party, or Afterburner as it was called, but in recent years it changed into a full day. This year, all stages but the Koepelhal have bands playing, but thankfully my schedule is far less busy than the previous days.

17:30 - Main Stage

The intensity of three days of Roadburn appears to have had an effect not only on me, but on most of the visitors. That's why T and I decided to take it easy. This meant we missed Lucy in Blue because we arrived in Tilburg at 3pm. Since for the first time this weekend, temperatures reached comfortable levels, we decided to enjoy the sun a little before diving into another day of musical adventure.

my first band of the day was Supersonic Blues, a last minute addition to the program. The young band from The Hague had the honor to play the now infamous Ladybird Skatepark. Their heavy blues rock wasn't that special, but it surely was a welcome energizer for the rest of the day.

The first highlight of the day was TankZilla, a newcomer from my hometown Eindhoven, who got to warm up the Hall of Fame. Even though this was their second gig ever, the two members are anything but new to the scene. Singer/guitar player Peter van Elderen has enjoyed success for over twenty years with Peter Pan Speedrock, but also has more stoner credits with bands like Repomen and Four Headed Dog and drummer Marcin Hurkmans is known for his work with rockers Wolfskop. Although there's just two guys on stage, they manage to produce some fat-sounding stoner rock with the signature riffs and lyrics of van Elderen. Today saw the release of their first 7", but this show leaves me hungry for more!

20:45 -- 013 Lobby

With an hour to kill, I decided to walk to the 013 to check out a few songs from today's Thou set. Even though it was their fourth set this weekend, the main stage was packed with people wanting to see the artist in residence one more time. And rightfully so. Even after four days of playing, the last time being only 16 hours before, the band played another energetic set of nasty doom.

Mitch Wells of Thou

This made it somewhat difficult for me to leave early, but I had been looking forward to my second chance of seeing Bismuth ever since it was announced this morning. The Skatepark has become my favorite venue and the acoustics are perfect for the intensity of "The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef". This time not troubled by technical difficulties, the UK duo's perfect performance of 'The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef' is one of my absolute highlights of the festival.

Fuel is important on days like these, so I decided to skip the beginning of Old Man Gloom to grab a delicious pancake filled with spinach and goats cheese, walnuts and honey. By the time I reach the crowded main stage, the OMG set is almost over, but judging from the enthusiastic crowd, the New Mexico sludge machine managed to deliver.

Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom

2:xx -- Eindhoven

Roadburn is over, but not before we were treated to another two-hour set of Sleep. This time the sonic titans performed their most recent effort, The Sciences, in its entirety, with the addition of "Leagues Beneath", "Dragonaut" and another section of "Dopesmoker". Sadly, the band was troubled by technical difficulties, to the great annoyance of Matt Pike, who even had to switch amps mid-set. This prevented the show from being the legendary event it could have been.

Matt Pike of Sleep

After Sleep, the time had come to slowly start Brexiting (saying you are leaving, but staying as long as you can).Saying goodbye to friends, both old and new, is always difficult, but it was fun to hear all the great stories everyone lived this weekend and see the joy in everyone's tired eyes. And just like Great Britain, we stayed until we were kicked out, leaving Tilburg behind with many new memories.

☀

[h0spitalreacti0nsh0t-blog]

The Mountain Goats - In League With Dragons (Review)

In League With Dragons, The Mountain Goats MERGE RECORDS, 2019

In League with Dragons is the 17th studio album by indie/folk/rock staples The Mountain Goats, and as such is the result of nearly 3 decades of development. The group’s founder, songwriter, and only consistent member John Darnielle has evidently made huge advancements since his early days yelping into a broken cassette recorder, and album opener Done Bleeding serves as an unexpectedly emotional reflection on this. 

The song’s opening bars serve as a symbol for where In League with Dragons’ priorities lie, starting with a subtle bass guitar riff reminiscent of the beginning to 2002’s Tallahassee before introducing drums, an uncharacteristically proggy piano line together with rhythmic guitar backing, and finally Darnielle’s vocals. This slow build, introducing instruments one by one, feels like a statement – In League with Dragons is a rock album. The traditional Mountain Goats formula has served the band well since 1991, with countless (even Darnielle admits to having no idea how many hundreds of songs he’s written) tracks following the same recipe – a frantic, percussive acoustic guitar providing texture and rhythm while Darnielle sings. While his oeuvre has definitely expanded in recent years – 2015’s Beat the Champ containing a near 3-minute atmospheric piano solo, and 2017’s Goths being written and recorded entirely without guitars – In League with Dragons feels like a refinement. While the group’s two most recent LPs have been perfectly solid, this release seems to have a far more cohesive view of what it wants to be. 

This clarity is represented by Younger, the album’s second song. The real star of this piece is surprisingly drummer Jon Wurster, whose percussion here sounds more influenced by John Bonham than by any of his contemporaries. The song is based around a repetitive, simple guitar riff, while various instruments and a choral backing provide just enough variety and texture to keep the track from becoming too slow-moving. While the song’s 6+ minute runtime could definitely benefit from some cutting down, it’s a nice enough track, and the saxophone solo at the climax is cathartic and gloriously indulgent. Its main fault is also the main drawback of the album as a whole, however – the production is incredibly bland. It feels silly to criticise the production of a Mountain Goats record, given that the first decade of the band’s existence sounded like a lethargic cat being run over by a vacuum cleaner, but the album is so glossy and so immaculately recorded that it’s hard to believe that it’s being played by real people. Everything is so clean, so sterile, that it sounds less like a smart, experienced wordsmith telling you stories from his life and imagination with his trusty acoustic guitar and more like something that plays on the radio in a supermarket. This isn’t to say that I just want the group to do what they’ve always done – far from it, the new style they show on this album is exciting and interesting, and I want to hear it done with real passion and enthusiasm. While the songwriting is as strong as ever, if not stronger, it’s hard to mask the fact that Younger, together with a few notable other tracks on the record, sounds like toothless radio rock.

The third track, Passaic 1975, feels like a much more traditional Mountain Goats piece – Darnielle laments the pathetic nature of ‘rock star’ life, describing an unnamed stadium-filling frontman unashamedly telling the crowds and cameras that “I want everyone to get high”, and eventually succumbing to the inevitable consequences of his vices. He begins to forget lyrics and pass out on stage, and his once daring and exciting lifestyle rings out hollow and pathetic. Darnielle begins the song in seeming admiration of its subject and ends it in a state of vague pity. Were it not for the guitars, the track could easily be an outtake from Goths - as it stands, it’s an enjoyable song with a creative vocal style and a trademark Darnielle chorus that’s funny, ironic, catchy, and slightly sad. After Passaic 1975 comes Clemency for the Wizard King, one of the album’s absolute highlights. Everything about this song is just strange. The main rhythm is unremarkable enough, and supported only by some similarly ordinary arpeggiated guitar chords. The vocals, however, are an extraordinarily tight duet between Darnielle and Matt Douglas that manages to be faltering and nervy, yet still authoritative and downright sinister. The lyrics give the listener just enough information to get a basic image – a group of people coming before some authority and demanding the release of their leader. Everything else is filled in by the listener’s imagination, and the song works excellently as a piece of standalone fantasy fiction – the fact it manages to do this while still being a straightforward and catchy rock song is commendable, and the fact it does this in under 3 minutes (not counting repetition, the song only has 15 lines) should cement Darnielle’s place as a legend. The vocals are strange, creepy, and unique, and the lyrics just cryptic enough to be evocative.

The next track, Possum By Night, is equally creative. Again, Darnielle manages to do something that no one else could – a piano led, melodramatic belter sung from the point of view of a possum, that manages to be not only excellent but remains completely straight-faced. It sounds like an elaborate joke, and in the hands of any other songwriter, it would be. What separates Darnielle, however, is a complete seeming lack of self awareness, that allows him to completely surrender to whatever he’s singing about – be it suicidal heroin addicts having paranoid, delirious visions of salvation, or a possum cult leader warning his brothers to “try not to get stuck in the intake vent”. While Darnielle has never been one to shy away from serious, heavy, extremely personal topics, the fact that he can give as much credibility to a song about rodent cults as he can to a song about his violently abusive stepfather and tragic childhood is a testament to his ability as a storyteller. The vocal performance is so dripping with raw feeling that all silliness immediately fades. Why the hell is he singing about this? I don’t know. But the important thing is that no one else is, and his writing and voice are so on point, so deft at describing this series of events, that you can’t help but get caught up in it.

The title track is another simple one – a breather, if you will. The sunny melody and hopeful tone have a dark subtext, as the protagonist (presumably the figure on the album cover) waits patiently for his accomplice to annihilate all the faceless evil in his way. “It’s so hard to get revenge, the human element drags you down”. The song’s hero comes across somewhat sociopathic, not so much establishing himself as a virtuous figure as he is frustrated by his own empathy and humanity making mass slaughter hard to stoumach. As a result, he befriends a dragon (as you do), and is now unburdened by conscience. The song manages to keep this darkness purely lyrical, however, with the cheerful, jaunty acoustic melody and Nashville pedal steel making the track into an unholy hybrid of Neil Young and Rush. “It’s so hard to be yourself, when you’ve already seen the inside” – even legendary heroes have to sleep at night. 

The second side of the album remains fairly consistent – Doc Gooden is yet another Mountain Goats song about a miserable ex-celebrity that justifies itself with its sheer bitterness (“When my name was everywhere, none of you were there”) , Going Invisible 2 is a slow, organ led, dramatic vocal track not unlike the aforementioned Possum By Night, and Waylon Jennings Live! is another perfectly enjoyable country-esque song that uses a few neat tricks including a slightly dissonant, atonal Moog synthesiser to create an effective earworm of an instrumental bridge. Cadaver Sniffing Dog feels a lot like Younger – a decent track that’s a little too long and repetitive for its own good, but the real highlights of side 2 are the closing two tracks. 

An Antidote for Strychnine is pure atmosphere, and the slow build is one of the best instrumentals the Mountain Goats have ever put out. The central character’s identity and backstory are unclear, the only thing that’s absolutely true is that he really needs to find a cure for rat poison (while seemingly crushingly aware that no such thing exists). The track starts with a despondent, slightly slurred vocal over a slow, noir keyboard, before steadily building into a full Dark Side of the Moon groove, layered with funky synth organ and guitar. That Floyd comparison isn’t for nothing, by the way – this track really sounds like Dark Side once it gets going. Frustratingly, the song fails to ever reach a genuinely cathartic climax, and once the build has reached its critical point, it just ramps down and ends. It’s still an excellent song, but there’s a permeating feeling that it could have been so much better had the group just committed to it a little more. 

The album closes with Sicilian Crest, an absolutely unashamed air-punching anthem. In it, Darnielle subtly and intelligently analyses the appeal of fascism in the 21st Century, through the lens of fantasy. As with many of his songs, he tells the story through pure rhetoric, abstract phrases and images that sound important without actually specifically meaning anything. The true genius of this track, however, is that in this case he’s directly using the lack of meaning to make his point. “Look to the West, look to the man bearing the Sicilian Crest” – combined with the triumphant musical backdrop, he paints this figure as a hero without actually saying who he is or what he believes. The actual identity of the man bearing the Sicilian Crest is completely irrelevant – he’s a symbol, a convenient solution to the dire times described in the verses. The entire song is propaganda for some unspecific figure, and the gloriously cheesy melody has an air of brutal cynicism. It’s saccharine, it’s not the truth, even inside the fiction. Annoyingly, Sicilian Crest also suffers from the same affliction (heh) as An Antidote for Strychnine, in that it feels like it’s building to a cathartic climax that it never delivers. The final chorus is delivered exactly the same as the first, except there’s a “woo!” at the end. While this is a minor flaw, and doesn’t detract from the song as a piece of writing, it can become frustrating on repeated listens.

In conclusion, In League with Dragons is a hugely creative, memorable and colourful record. The flaws that it has don’t seem to matter much, the Mountain Goats have never been about making hugely dynamic, musically ambitious songs (most of the group’s early material can be recreated using only D, A, Em and G chords) as much as they’re about telling a story that affects you in a medium that inspires you. Despite that, the album is far from flawless, and some moments could do with being seriously refined. The main thing holding this album back from greatness, however, is the aforementioned production. No matter how many times I listen to this record, it still sounds boring. There’s a fine line between polish and castration, and especially on Younger and Cadaver Sniffing Dog that line is blurred too heavily to ignore. All in all, In League with Dragons is absolutely worth your time, and is a very possible contender for my album of the year, but it’s best enjoyed as no more than a piece of thoroughly creative and entertaining rock music.

8/10