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redclercs · 1 year

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DELICATE✰ CHARLES LECLERC.

INTERLUDE: this is why we can't have nice things.

— the one where everybody's waiting to see the fall out.

warnings: this is basically like the INTRO chapter with all media, we're going to pretend publications and broadcast timings are not mistaken or fake, okay? ok. am i myself if i don't mention taylor swift in every chapter? no. foul language.

masterlist ✢ next

By Tom Gill // June 23rd

Vic Presley confirms y/n hasn't reached out to her even after Vic called asked her to in a publication a few days ago.

"I think she has blocked my number by now," Presley said, "I am devastated by this. I didn't think it was like her to discard relationships so easily."

Presley and y/ln have been friends since 2020, when they met at the opening of the SENSE Club in downtown Los Angeles and quickly became inseparable.

"y/n really was— is my best friend. I miss her and I want her to come back to me."

Vic Presley also commented on y/n's split from Aidan Kim in her own way: "I hate that she hurt Aidan. I was not aware they had so many problems, that's definitely the kind of stuff you tell your best friend."

y/n was spotted just a week ago with alleged (and constantly denied) boyfriend, Charles Leclerc on a stroll around Central Park. Victoria Presley couldn't help but speak her mind on this.

"y/n has changed so much since she met that guy. I met him in Miami and Monaco, he's not one of the good ones. He's managing to isolate her from everyone who loves her."

Once again, Victoria urges y/n to contact her so they can rekindle their friendship. "I am not angry at her, disappointed maybe. But I will always have my arms open for her."

SEE ALSO:

→ Mia Kim, the talented sister of Aidan Kim, set to make big screen debut.

→ Were Mia Kim and Victoria Presley mocking y/n y/ln in new Youtube Video?

→ Mia Kim: "y/n should have kept her mouth shut, there's still shit to be exposed about her."

FROM THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW — JULY 6TH

[Y/N]: ❝(...) What matters to me right now, is that people now I am nothing of what they're calling me. I am not perfect, nobody is. But I have never cheated on a partner or used someone else as a 'toy' and most importantly, I built my own career.❞

[Y/N]: ❝It gets exhausting, you hear things about yourself you never even thought possible. It could be laughable if it wasn't so cruel❞

[Y/N]: ❝My relationship ended in February, but I believe it was over way before that. I acted in a way that was not fair to my ex-partner nor to myself, and I expressed my regrets about it. He had the right to not accept my apology, but not to make stuff up about the whole situation.❞

[Y/N]: ❝He's feeding his ego, he's a man, after all. But doing it at the expense of my work and my reputation is disgusting. I want one producer or casting agent to come forward and say they gave me a role thanks to my ex-boyfriend's input, just one.❞

[Y/N]: ❝I have surrounded myself with different people. They have been a great support system, always motivating me, and holding me back when I'm about to do something stupid. This also means I have left some people out of what's going on with me, and it's for the best.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Taylor Swift, bless her soul, has given me a lot of advice. She's the sweetest person ever and since the same guy that is trying to drag me has gone after her in a few interviews, she wants this to be over as much as I do. I think he made a mistake by messing with Taylor too.❞

[Y/N]: ❝Rumors will keep running, but I am finally at peace with knowing who I am and who I can trust. But those 'sources' should know my patience is running out.❞

By Jenny Highland // July 20th

Mia Kim and Victoria Presley are the hottest topic right now, but not for the reasons both influencers wish, as they are in trouble!

Both Los Angeles locals have received a 'Cease and Desist' letter from recovering actress y/n y/ln this week, per her team's advice. This was confirmed by both Presley and Kim on Twitter, saying they are 'flabbergasted' that y/n is accusing them of defamation.

While y/n is far from gaining her place back in the public's heart, we are not blind to what Victoria and Mia have done for the past month, riding the wave to get views and followers talking about their shared time with y/n. Who has every right to ask them to stop, as she has done in several interviews throughout the month.

For many people, this makes it more evident that it was either Presley or Kim who contacted tabloids to get their five minutes of fame and sink y/n deeper.

Actions have consequences for everyone, and if y/n decided to pick this fight at this point in her downfall/rerise/wherever it is that we are with her, it's because she knows she can win, right?

─── team principal radio: ❝thank you for reading! please let me know your thoughts! I know I'm ending your patience with this slow burn thing but I promise you we're getting there! Charles is back next chapter and you'll see haha. again, your interactions mean the world to me and i'm sorry if sometimes i don't reply to your comments, i'm just awkward but i love you all♡❞

✰ paddock club members: @sassyheroneckgiant @flowerchild-96 @fangirlika @shegotboreddsoo @roseamongthorns13 @cissyp @chimchimjiminie16 @saturnsrinqs @roni-midnights @gayyvodka6 @studioreader @its-ash-not-grey @lu-morningstar @ferraribabe @reidsworld @feelslikestrawberries @celestialams @kosmosgalore @heeseung-baby @missenclod @buendiabebeta @mycenterfold @aces-tattooartist @burningrred @you-bleed-just-toknowyouarealive@rainybabe25 @ru-kru @lazybot @teenagedreams-cl @cool-ultra-nerd @kuskumu @formulakay3 @bisexual-desi @somanyfandomsbruh @icarus-nex @haziefairy @xjval @xoxoloverb @sainzleclercs @headinthecloudssblog @incoherenciass @bookophiliac @torrie421 @nooshytushie @azxulaa @steephanie07 @anonymous8462 @tbisloneely @pukklv @bn7921 @be-your-coffee-pot @fdl305 @lovely-blackinnon @landonorizzz @ruleroftheuniverse @ivegotparticulartaste

want to join the paddock club? click here!

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#charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fic #charles leclerc fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #f1 imagines #f1 x reader #formula 1 imagines #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 x reader #cl16 fanfic #cl16 x reader #cl16 imagine

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insufficiently-advanced · 9 months

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i am

american number one superstar

#mine #dropout #very important people #vip dropout

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blowflyfag · 5 months

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WRESTLING FURY: June 1989

OWEN HART BLAZES INTO THE WWF

Possibly a warning heralded too late but, beware World Wrestling Federation gladiators! He’s tried the rest, now he’ll take on the best. Just when you though professional wrestling an out of surprises, a pleasant breath of fresh talent has ventured down from the foothills of Western Canada to the highly publicized, mega-marketed wrestling organization operated by Vince McMahon, Jr. and based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Although he has been touring the pro mat circuits for less than five years, many veterans of the grappling game already hail him as one of the best technicians ever to step into the ring. One former National Wrestling Alliance heavyweight champion has gone as far as comparing The Blue Blazer to the great Lou Thesz.

No matter how his performances are assessed, spectacular and superb are usually the first two words used to describe the moves he puts on his opponents. Even under a mask and fancy robes, the true identity of The Blue Blazer can’t be hidden. Owen Hart, of the famous wrestling Hart family from Calgary, Alberta, Canada already has gained a legion of faithful followers in the United States, hoping he’ll get a crack at the prestigious title belts recognized by the WWF.

There’s no way the so-called brain trust of the WWF could have kept the Blazer’s identity a secret. The technical holds and acrobatic maneuvers executed with such perfection could only be administered by the youngest of the wrestling Hart brothers.

[Owen was the North American Heavyweight champ in his native Canada.]

Before signing on with the WWF, Owen Hart was already recognized worldwide as a wrestling superstar. Some of his most exciting ring encounters took place in Japan. The style of wrestling in the Orient is much like that in Western Canada and the Japanese fans quickly grew to admire the young Hart, always more than anxious for his next return.

The winning attitude that has enveloped Owen is due to having built-in-trainers. Keith, Bruce and Bret “The Hit Man” Hart, along with brothers-in-law Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith, have instructed Own from their years of experience on the ins and outs of what will not work to a wrestler’s advantage while in the ring.

Owen’s father, former wrestling expert Stu Hart, who took on everyone from Gene Kinski to Joe Louis, has overseen his son’s entry in the limelight of the sport and is quite pleased with his progression. When asked by a fan as to when Owen would return to action in the Stampede Wrestling rings, Stu prideful replied, “Unfortunately he will not be available to us in the foreseeable future. I have tremendous respect for Owen, not only as a wrestler but as a son, a young man of whom I am extremely proud. I feel very strongly in my heart that Owen can make the same contribution to wrestling that Wayne Gretzky has made to hockey. To my way of thinking, if you can pardon my saying so, he is simply the best that there is in the game, both in and out of the ring.”

[As the Blue Blazer, Hart far outclasses most of the competition. (photo by Brown)]

With one highlight after another in Japan and Canada, where he held the North American heavyweight title several times, Owen Hart literally wrote his own ticket to the promotion that would financially satisfy him the most. When you are the best in the sport from a promoter’s and fans’ viewpoint, it is better to have the talented athlete on your team rather than opposing it. And, that’s exactly what the WWF did. Instead of letting the NWA or AWA get his name on a contract, the WWF recognized the endless amount of talent Owen Hart possesses and proceeded to add him to their ever-growing parade of stars.

The question asked by fans throughout North America is why the mask? Perhaps the WWF hierarchy was afraid the young Canadian would outshine their number one superstars, such as Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. Would Owen put either Hogan or Savage in the position that the fans would demand a showdown between the two? In Hogan’s case it wouldn’t be a great surprise how that confrontation would conclude. One is a wrestler known as an exciting ring tactician and one has been labeled a living cartoon.

Thus far as the Blue Blazer, Owen’s abilities seem to have been toned down in the Federation. The majority of the Blazer’s matches fall into the preliminary category, usually the opening contest against the likes of men such as Steve Lombardi and Barry Horrowitz. Both Lombardi and Horowitz are well qualified to be labeled wrestlers and have always given their challengers a tiresome time in the ring. However, they aren’t in the same ballpark as Randy Savage or Jim Duggan as far as drawing large crowds to the arenas are concerned.

[Here’s a look at a flying head butt done Owen Hart Style.]

The Blazer’s ring performance resembled the way the British Bulldog marched into the WWF five years back. Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid plainly and simply outclassed and nearly embarrassed those who stepped onto the canvas against them. They made all the other so-called WWF athletes look effective. When the Blue Blazer entered the scene, the same scenario arose again.

The mask, artificial identity and the fact of being delegated to preliminary mat action appears to have taken their roll on Owen Hart. This past Thanksgiving, as the Blue Blazer, he was caught off guardian submitted to Greg Valentine’s figure -four leg lock. Perhaps that unusual ending to his participation in the Survivor Series match should be taken as a signal that they (the WWF) may be destroying the confidence of wrestling’s newest hero. It was also during this exciting event that Owen suffered another injury that will prevent him from wrestling for a short time.

Never quite a number one contender in the Federation but a man known to give you the fight of your life, “Iron” Mike Sharpe recently stated, “The best offense is a good defense when squaring off against the Blue Blazer. The suplexes, sunset flips and dives off the top ropes he does are incredible. His moves are carried out flawlessly. The Blazer is a thinking man’s wrestler.” He continued by saying, “He has to be careful when dazzling his challengers, the chances he takes in the ring are too risky to end in injury, if his mind wandered. Believe me, the Blue Blazer has all the ingredients to soon be the #1 contender for the Inter-Continental and Heavyweight championships.”

Will he or won’t he, hidden under a hood as the Blue Blazer, combine forces with his brother “The Hit Man” to pursue the WWF Tag Team champions? Should Jim Neidhart graciously step aside and give his blessings on the brothers to unite their wrestling energies, having the title belts put around their waists? That would be a mere technicality waiting to happen.

[These aerial maneuvers are what makes Owen so great. (photo by Brown)]

It’s generally accepted by fans, promoters and wrestlers themselves that Bret and Owen are the two most best all-around wrestlers in the support of wrestling today. It’s almost a certainty that should the Hart Brothers be put in the same ring as Demolition, The Rougeaus or The Powers of Pain, record gate receipts will be achieved. The Harts aren't the largest or most muscular pair in the WWF, just the best schooled wrestlers on the group’s roster.

In singles competition, just think of the Blue Blazer getting the opportunity to renew his feud with the Honky Tonk Man from their days when they both worked out of Calgary. When turned to Bad News Brown, the Blue Blazer is capable of knocking Harlem, New York’s wrestling thug down a couple of notches in the rankings. Without the mask on, in Canadian towns such as Edmonton, Camrose and Winnipeg, Owen Hart convincingly handed Brown pinning defeats.

[Owen and his finance Martha have been doing some modeling in Canada

Owen’s body is rock solid perfect. ]

When battling world class competitors as Makkhan Singh, “Strangler” Steve DiAlvo and Comrade Jerry Morrow, as an athlete, Owen became a better professional. Stampede Wrestling out of Calgary has always been over stuffed with talented wrestlers who rely on their athletic ability to advance their career, not gimmicks to get them the necessary push to main event status.

Biff Ellington, Johnny Smith, Chris Beneoit and Goldie Rogers are just a handful of respected grapplers that, along with Owen, have put Calgary on the international wrestling map of excellence.

As the Blue Blazer in the WWF, Owen Hart isn’t asking for anything he isn’t deserving of. When the time comes and the Blazer is able to spread his wrestling wings, his ring actions will lead to many to say “I told you so.” Owen Hart has proven he is a winner, a dedicated professional and an all-around class act. After all, his wrestling roots are second to none.

#Owen hart #magazine scan #magazine transcript #Blue Blazer

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midnight-star-world · 9 months

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#countrymusic

Chris Stapleton - Higher

So today on the MSR (Midnight Star Review), I would like to talk about the latest album from Country Music Superstar Chris Stapleton. The new album is titled "Higher" and was released on Friday November 10th, 2023. But before we talk about 14 track album. We will talk a little about Chris Stapleton's career next.

Chris Stapleton has released such hits like "Tennessee whiskey", "You should probably leave", & "Starting over". Other songs include "Broken halos", "Joy of my life", & "Millionaire". Chris has scored 3 number ones on my weekly list MSR (Midnight Star Report). My weekly list combines both CMT (Country Music Television), the Billboard Country Music Airplay Charts, & even myself. The list used to include GAC (Great American Country) until the list officially retired at the end of 2018. But let's jump back into the new project next.

Chris co-wrote all 14 tracks, and even had help from Miranda Lambert. The lead single from the CD is "White horse", and the title track is "Higher". Songs you should also check out are "What am I gonna do", "Trust", & "It takes a woman". Other songs you may like are "Think I'm in love with you", "Crosswind", & "The mountains of my mind". The stand out tracks in my mind are "The bottom", "The day I die", & "Weight of your world". Here is the rest of the track list now.

Track list.

What am I gonna do.

South Dakota.

Trust.

It takes a woman.

The fire.

Think I'm in love with you.

Loving you on my mind.

White horse.

Higher.

The bottom.

The day I die.

Crosswind.

Weight of your world.

Mountains of my mind.

And that's a wrap for the track list. And on the MSR (Midnight Star Report), I would give this album a 5 out of 5 stars. I felt like this was a well balanced album. There was a lot of stand out tracks from this new project. And Chris is one to put his heart and soul into every song he does for us. If you are a Chris Stapleton fan, this is an album you must get. Thanks for taking the time to read this review. See ya all next time.

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margle · 1 year

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15 (ish) questions for 15 (ish) mutuals (but I didnt do that part sorry)

thanks @cowboycharmac , @translesbianvampire , @number-one-hog-hater , @23meteorstreet for the tags!

were you named after anyone?

sort of. I asked my mum and she listed a few people but the main one is a very hedonistic character from a book.so that’s a fun role to fill. the other people are a bit more daunting in their accomplishments.

do you have kids?

no and I dont want any.

do you use sarcasm a lot?

not very often, I guess. ive been told I am very difficult to read if im telling a joke or not. especially sarcasm. im mostly sarcastic when im being mean rather than funny. I guess im more likely to be dry?

what's the first thing you notice about people?

I honestly have no clue. definitely not their shoes. and probably not their face because I can never remember what people look like. I sat in a car with my driving instructor for months but could not tell you what he looked like. physically, I probably notice hair and clothes first? but otherwise if im meeting someone new I just notice whether they talk to me or not and how they hold a conversation.

what's your eye color?

blue/green.

scary movies or happy endings?

im a wimp and I dont like scary movies. so I guess I prefer happy endings, although I dont mind some tragedy. for tv I almost exclusively watch comedies. i dont watch a lot of films so i’ll mostly watch what other people want. im a fan of rewatching, so it is rare I will willingly watch something new on my own. as for books, ill read anything! but especially interesting gothic classics and translated books. I like slice of life and anything with great world building. not a huge fan of ya probably because it was all I read when I was younger so I got a bit bored of it.

any special talents?

I never know how to answer that. im decent at various things but nothing in particular. if you showed me a relatively common uk bug I think I would be able to id it.

what are your hobbies?

im into entymology. I like taking pictures of bugs and recording their species. there are other things I do, but im hesitant to call them hobbies because I dont do them that regularly.

have any pets?

yes! a beautiful, wonderful cat.

what sports do you play/have you played?

I dont play sport regularly. did the usual sports at school. (I did some more interesting stuff but im trying to be humble. im big into baseball - Ive got a batting average of .328, have 118 home runs and batted in 1014 runs. im also in the baseball hall of fame. that’s right guys, im baseball superstar wade boggs. Im a true american - I love baseball and posting on tumblr and my family and beer)

how tall are you?

I honestly dont know. 5 foot something. that should narrow it down.

favorite subject in school?

I liked english lit in later school. earlier on I liked all the arty stuff best. textiles was a lot of fun but the teacher was a prick.

dream job?

games design but im shite at coding. :( conservation work would be cool. havent decided yet. when I was a kid I wanted to be a farmer and used to like planning my future farm layout. now I just play stardew valley.

im not sure who to tag because I think most of my mutuals have been tagged by other people already. or have already done it. ive spent too long deliberating over who to tag/not tag. and so this is an open invitation to whoever wants to do this. you dont have to be my mutual! I know this kinda defeats the point of these things but gah idk I never do these.

#personal

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fagtron2000 · 3 months

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I AM

AMERICAN NUMBER ONE SUPERSTAR

👏👏

you heard the man

#asks

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ihavebeesinmybrain · 4 months

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would so unironically listen to a full length version of i am american number one superstar

#dropout please #put it on spotify

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the-good-projxct · 5 months

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Beyonce Country Music Theory

Feb 2024

I believe Beyonce is about to break the US dollar via music. Wild theory but here goes. Taylor Swift is the highest grossing country music superstar all american darling right now. She is dating a white all american football player. She is the epitome of the white American dream. Achieve any success as a woman but society still dictates that you must have the tough, strong man of your dreams by your side. But ENOUGH about Tay Tay and her colonizer fantasies...

Yeezy take the wheel.

This is about Yoncé.

Beyonce is the Black American dream. She is the African American global darling highest grossing pop star. She is dating a once upon a time drug dealer turned entrepreneur/billionaire Black man with Blackity Black Black Black features. She has three kids and a tight knit family. She is the epitome of AMERICAN Black girl magic. She represens the hustle of America. The you can do it all and have it all if you want. Black capitalism at its highest.

Bow down broke minions.

So, now Queen B has skidaddled over to country music. I bet you Tay Tay is shooketh in her lil’ cowboy boots. Because we know, anything that white women do well, Black women do it better. Bey is from Texas so she has every right to country. And country music is Black As Hell so, any one of us can do country, hello Lil Nas X. It is OURS first. Stake the claim in it niggas.

Anyway, now that the Queen has chosen to terrify likkle white gyals and Dolly has approved of this transition. It is time to watch the numbers and the charts talk.

Taylor Swift is supported by the white dollar. It is a very niche group of white women and girls that love Taylor Swift. The ones that call themselves feminists but will date a racist. Taylors fans don’t cross demographics and age groups, they are a very niche group of ages 6-40 year old white girls and women.

Beyonce on the other hand, her fandom includes all races of women globally, Queer and Trans folx. But the key thing is that, Black folx will ride for Beyonce because of what she represents for the new American capitalist dream. Black folx showed up and showed out for renaissance. I do not align with a lot of Beyonce’s politics but yo, I know what her image, her brand, her artistry has done for Black girls and women in America. It has uplifted. And wherever Black people go, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially…white people will follow.

So, if this is a test of whose dollar is worth more. Beyonce is about to show us that when she is put in the same music genre as the all white american sweetheart with the faux fade footballer, Beyonce and by association, Black folx will win. It will show that our dollar has more value. That we will buy out, listen to, attend shows, blow up charts in a way white America cyannot. And I am here for this. I am here for this awakening in Black spaces. For us to see that our support and our dollar is unmatched. I want the world to see that Black folx will support and financially blow up what they believe in. I want to see global markets start to chase the Black dollar. I hope Beyonce breaks the American dollar, splits it in two markets. The Black American dollar and the white dollar as other. We’ve always lived in a split America and I’d love to see that reflected financially.

Anyway, maybe then and only then can she walk away from being the Queen of Black Capitalism/wealth hoarding. Maybe then she will actually choose being a Black Panther instead of being a performative one. Maybe then she will choose collective collaboration/liberation.

But until then,

go ahead Mrs. Carter. Destroy the white dollar.

Pull a Mansa Musa.

Destabilize the colonizer.

... if that's your revolution, I'm here to see it.

... from the sidelines or VIP like TayTay.

Happy Black History Month.

#feb 2024 #blackpopculture

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theiloveyousong · 5 months

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i am i am american number one superstar

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carharttlesbian · 9 months

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the sun is in the sky i salute to the number one guy and its god yeah yeah yeah its god that i pray to yeah yeah yeah and i eat my burger and everyone knows that i am i am american number one superstar 👏👏 i am i am american number one superstar

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toldyaimaslut759110101698901kk · 10 months

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When we are all in our equal rights, why would and who is the one giving my voice censorship? This is about being Pocahontas energy to a core as a playfully most beautiful all American good boy who is into fraternizing with the best in the world. We would see what's up with me then and you have my profile as such. Spread out through this messy phone. Only because my career highlights are crucial for defining me in a time I am staying on my rise. Lucky, lucky. I'm Torrie Wilson in my kat like manner and I'm all about hearing how much they miss me. Already caked on my barbie boy layers. My real name is Colton but I am who I say I am. I just might have to start before you play with me or pick me as your player- with starting at my moment of definitely defining me through some big wins. The card game that defines all the rest of the barbie boy like merchandise in a mirror match.

I'm not much of a writer and I'm losing my touch writing now about proving a point that lead to a serious HOLD. So I'm wrestling and speaking into technically different contexts with CHOICE WORDS. and it's still anybody's guess if you're not on my wave length or keeping score somehow. So I was introduced to the next level barbie shit when I found WWE at the age of 13 going into 8th grade in back to school. And here's a glimpse of the Superstar Card using her ability while holding strong a numbers game with the 2002 WWE profile of none other than Torrie Wilson in her video download and watch clip! Heres a snap shot but we've been there once or so already.

Injun derogatory_MARIAMIXCCCLAVENDER_urban dictionary

See my work trying to let you know how I get through Thank Delta You Remix_LEY.LAY.3113_Politically Correct (angel numbers #2day #5SouthDarlington

Colt on Anna racecar com pass 😶‍🌫️🧭😶‍🌫️💞🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏💅🏾

Pocahontas Disney princess inner G for spiritual gangster

Who is above or RIGHTiNG me? ({parental guidance})

14 2002 nip slip Providence insert**

✓ Armageddon 🗡️ (ignore second picture)

See you GUYS Tuesday

C.U.Next Tuesday omo h is for _ _ me & u BU✝️ how come Everytime we sing the words wrong my London Bridge wanna come down like GO! #primeeXamPILL. #procon pro # con

Parental Guidance decides because of how different the message is from NEXT &💞& GUYS on lucky number 2§

Where am "i" in this stand?

Engine

In GiN

What I mean t ~WAS??~?

KKK E!

gold and silver iPhones

TORRIE! torrie! Torrie! 33111wononeCH_o_e§ii°|/\word whirL high A head 🗣️ world war |™/\\/

18 blink Anna Nicole Smith PG #bulletlane #2day #5dARe...misc

Do you know what she did?

Bible numbers

Q-How #ndn 'd •¥• OWL/AL #FishDaddysRegisterDreamEDCLasVegas2015 "came" °°me? A-Through a match 🆚 🏳️‍🌈©️™️®️➰♾️〰️🗨️🌈🗨️💬💬🗡️🗡️🗡️🔓🏺🔒🪤🗝️🗝️⚰️⌚🪤🪤⛓️🩺⚗️🩹🌡️🧪☂️👑💍🪭💍💎💎🎒🧤?👘🧤?🌡️🌡️🌡️💧🌪️💧☔⚡🏖️🏝️🏖️🏝️⛄☃️🍄🏵️🏵️hoop scotch @Firestone

Bra and panties match Censorship Match = equal reduction most likely and potentially. Moving along.

Mommy? Daddy? Tight ass t ur on MATCH stay and see!! Colt on is "in" LIKE THAT 😎 mind, body and soul. Action Maneuver and Reversal in the end 💜 29

Native American Anna con DUH!! &&.°.

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looye29 · 2 years

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path-of-my-childhood · 4 years

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CABIN FEVER - Aaron Dessner: Producing folklore and evermore

Sound On Sound Magazine // March 2021 issue // By Tom Doyle

The pandemic gave Taylor Swift a chance to explore new musical paths, with two lockdown albums co-written and produced by the National's Aaron Dessner.

Few artists during the pandemic have been as prolific as Taylor Swift. In July 2020, she surprise-released folklore, a double-length album recorded entirely remotely and in isolation. It went on to become the biggest global seller of the year, with four million sales and counting. Then, in December, she repeated the trick with the 15-song evermore, which quickly became Swift's eighth consecutive US number one.

In contrast to her country-music roots and the shiny synth-pop that made her a superstar, both folklore and evermore showcased a very different Taylor Swift sound: one veering more towards atmospheric indie and folk. The former album was part-produced by Swift and her regular co-producer Jack Antonoff (St Vincent, Lana Del Rey), while the other half of the tracks were overseen by a new studio collaborator, Aaron Dessner of the National. For evermore, aside from one Antonoff-assisted song, Dessner took full control of production.

Good Timing

Although his band are hugely popular and even won a Grammy for their 2017 album Sleep Well Beast, Aaron Dessner admits that it initially felt strange for an indie-rock guitarist and keyboard player to be pulled into such a mainstream project. Swift had already declared herself a fan of the National, and first met the band back in 2014. Nonetheless, Dessner was still surprised when the singer sent him a text "out of the blue" last spring. "I mean, I didn't think it was a hoax," he laughs. "But it was very exciting and a moment where you think it's like serendipity or something, especially in the middle of the pandemic. When she asked if I would ever consider writing with her, I just happened to have a lot of music that I had worked really hard on. So, the timing was sort of lucky. It opened up this crazy period of collaboration. It was a pretty wild ride."

Since 2016, Aaron Dessner has been based at his self-built rural facility, Long Pond Studio, in the Hudson Valley, upstate New York. The only major change to the studio since SOS last spoke to Dessner in October 2017 has been the addition of a vintage WSW Siemens console built in 1965. "It had been refurbished by someone," he says, "and I think there's only three of them in the United States. I heard it was for sale from our friend [and the National producer/mixer] Peter Katis. That's a huge improvement here."

Although the National made Sleep Well Beast and its 2019 successor I Am Easy To Find at Long Pond, the band members are scattered around the US and Europe, meaning Dessner is no stranger to remote working and file sharing. This proved to be invaluable for his work with Swift. Dessner spent the first six weeks of lockdown writing music that he believed to be for Big Red Machine, his project with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. Instead, many of these work-in-progress tracks would end up on folklore. Their first collaboration (and the album's first single), 'cardigan', for instance, emerged from an idea Dessner had been working on backstage during the National's European arena tour of Winter 2019.

"I sent her a folder and in the middle of the night she sent me that song," Dessner explains. "So, the next morning I was just listening to it, like, `Woah, OK, this is crazy."

On The Move

As work progressed, it quickly became apparent that Swift and Dessner were very much in tune as a songwriting and producing unit. There was very little Dessner had to do, he says, in terms of chopping vocals around to shape the top lines. "I think it's because I'm so used to structuring things like a song, with verses and choruses and bridges," he reckons. "In most cases, she sort of kept the form. If she had a different idea, she would tell me when she was writing and I would chop it up for her and send it to her. But, mostly, things kind of stayed in the form that we had."

Dessner and Swift were working intensively and at high speed throughout 2020, so much so that on one occasion the producer sent the singer a track and went out for a run in the countryside around Long Pond. By the time he got back, Swift had already written 'the last great american dynasty' and it was waiting for him in his inbox. "That was a crazy moment," he laughs. "One of the astonishing things about Taylor is what a brilliant songwriter she is and the clarity of her ideas and, when she has a story to tell, the way she can tell it. I think she's just been doing it for so long, she has a facility that makes you feel like you could never do what she's capable of. But we were a good pair because I think the music was inspiring to her in such a way that the stories were coming."

Swift's contributions to folklore were recorded in a makeshift studio in her Los Angeles home. Laura Sisk engineered the sessions as the singer recorded her vocals, using a Neumann U47, in a neighbouring bedroom. Live contact between Swift, Sisk, Dessner and Long Pond engineer Jonathan Low was done through real-time online collaboration platform Audiomovers.

"We would listen in remotely and kind of go back and forth," says Dessner. "We used Audiomovers and then we would have Zoom as a backup. But mainly we were just using Audiomovers, so we could actually be in her headphones. It's powerful, it's great. I've used it a lot with people during this time. Then, later on, when we recorded evermore, a lot of the vocals were done here at the studio actually when Taylor was visiting when we did the [Disney+ documentary] Long Pond Sessions. But Taylor's vocals for folklore were all done remotely."

Keeping Secrets

Given the huge international interest in Swift, the team had to work with an elaborate file-sharing arrangement to ensure that the tracks didn't leak online. Understandably, Dessner won't be drawn on the specifics. "Yeah, I mean we had to be very careful, so everything was very secretive," he says. "There were passwords on both ends and we communicated in a specific way when sharing mixes and everything. There was a high level of confidentiality and data encryption. It was sort of a learning curve.

"I'm not used to that," he adds, "'cause usually we're just letting files kind of fly all over the Internet [laughs]. But I think with someone like her, there's just so many people that are paying attention to every move that she makes, which can be a little, I think, oppressive for her. We tried to make it as comfortable as possible and we got used to how to get things to her and back to us. It worked pretty well."

Drums & Guitars

For the generally minimalist beat programming on the records, Dessner would sometimes turn to his more expensive new analogue drum generators - Vermona's DRM1 and Dave Smith's Tempest - but more often used the Synthetic Bits iOS app FunkBox. "There's just a lot of great vintage drum machine sounds in there, and they sound pretty cool, especially if you overdrive it," he says. "Often I send that through an amplifier, or through effects into an amplifier. Then I have a [Roland) TR-8 and a TR-8S that I use a lot. I also use the drum machine in the [Teenage Engineering] OP-1. So, a song like 'willow', that's just me tapping the OP-1."

Elsewhere, Dessner's guitar work appears on the tracks, with the intricate melodic layering on 'the last great american dynasty' from folklore having been inspired by Radiohead's In Rainbows. "Almost all of the electric guitar on Taylor's records is played direct through a REDDI DI into the Siemens board," he says. "It's usually just my 1971 Telecaster played direct and it just sounds great. Oftentimes I just put a little spring reverb on it and sometimes I'll overdrive the board like it's an amplifier, 'cause it breaks up really beautifully.

"I have a 1965 [Gibson] Firebird that I play usually through this 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb. So, if I am playing into an amp, that's what it is. But on 'the last great american dynasty', those little pointillistic guitars, that's just played direct with the Telecaster through the board."

Elsewhere, Aaron Dessner took Taylor Swift even further out of her sonic comfort zone. A key track on folklore, the Cocteau Twins-styled 'epiphany', features her voice amid a wash of ambient textures, created by Dessner slowing down and reversing various instrumental parts in Pro Tools. "I created a drone using the Mellotron [MD4000D] and the Prophet and the OP-1 and all kinds of synth pads," he says. "Then I duplicated all the tracks, and some of them I reversed and some of them I dropped an octave. All manner of using varispeed and Polyphonic Elastic Audio and changing where they were sitting. Just to create like this Icelandic glacier of sounds was my idea. Then I wrote the chord progression against that.

"The [Pro Tools] session was not happy," he adds with a chuckle. "It kept crashing. Eventually I had to print the drone but I printed it by myself and there was some crackle in it. It was distorting. And then I couldn't recreate it so Jon Low, who was helping me, was kind of mad at me 'cause he was like, 'You can't do that.' And I was like, 'Well, I was working quickly. I didn't know it'd become a song."

Orchestra Of Nowhere

Meanwhile, the orchestrations that appear on several of the tracks were scored by Aaron's twin brother and National bandmate, Bryce Dessner, who is located in France. "I would just make him chord charts of the songs and send them to him in France," Aaron says. "Then he would orchestrate things in Sibelius and send the parts to me. I would send the parts and the instrumental tracks to different players remotely and they would record them literally in their bedrooms or in their attics. None of it was done as a group, it was all done separately. But that's how we've always worked in the National so it's quite natural."

On folklore standout track 'exile', Justin Vernon of Bon Iver delivered his stirring vocal for the duet remotely from his home in Eaux Claires, Wisconsin. "He's renovating his studio, so he has a little home studio in his garage," says Dessner. "It was Taylor's idea to approach him. I sent him Taylor's voice memo of her singing both parts, and he got really excited and loved the song and then he wrote the extra part in the bridge.

"I do a lot of work remotely with Justin also, so it was easy to send him tracks and he would track to it and send back his vocals. I was sending him stems, so usually it's just a vocal stem of Taylor and an instrumental stem and then if he wants something deeper, I'll give him more stems. But generally, he's just working with the vocal layers and an instrumental."

Vernon also provided the grainy beat that kicks off 'closure', one of two tracks on evermore that started life as a sketch for the second Big Red Machine album. "It was this little loop that Justin had given me in this folder of 'Starters', he calls them. I had heard that and been playing the piano to it. But I was hearing it in 5/4, although it's not in 5/4. 'Closure' really opened everything up further. There were no real limits to where we were gonna try to write songs."

Given the number of remote players, Dessner says there were surprisingly few problems with the file swapping and that it was a fairly painless technical process. "It was pretty smooth, but there were issues," he admits. "Sometimes sample-rate issues, or if I happened to give someone an instrumental that was an MP3, that sometimes lines up differently than if you send them an actual WAV that's bounced on the grid. So, sometimes I'd have to kinda eyeball things.

"If there was trouble it started to be because of track counts. I probably only used 20 percent of what was actually recorded, 'cause we would try a lot of things, y'know. So, eventually the sessions got kinda crazy and you'd have to deactivate a lot of things and print things. But we got used to that."

Soft Piano

Aaron Dessner's characteristic dampened upright piano sound, familiar from the National's albums, is much in evidence throughout both folklore and evermore. "The upright is a Yamaha U1 that I've had for more than a decade. Usually, I play it with the soft pedal down and that's the sound of 'hoax' or 'seven' or 'cardigan', y'know, that felted sound. It kind of almost sounds like an electric piano.

"I always mic it the same way, just with two [AKG] 414s, and they're always the same distance off the wall. I had a studio in Brooklyn for 10 years and then when I moved here, I copied the same [wooden] pattern on the wall. And the reason I did that is 'cause of how much I love how this piano sounds bouncing off that wall. It just does something really special for the harmonics."

When on other folklore songs, such as 'exile' or 'the 1', where the piano was the main sonic feature of the track, Dessner played his Steinway grand. "A lot of times we use a pair of Coles [4038s] on the Steinway, just cause it's darker. But sometimes we'll have the 414s there as well and choose."

Keeping Warm

On both folklore and evermore, Taylor Swift's voice is very much front and center and high in the mix, and generally sounds fairly dry. "I think the main thing was I wanted her vocals to have a more full range than maybe you typically hear," Dessner explains. "'Cause I think a lot of the more pop-oriented records are mixed a certain way and they take some of the warmth out of the vocal, so that it's very bright and it kinda cuts really well on the radio. But she has this wonderful lower warmth frequency in her voice which is particularly important on a song like `seven'. If you carved out that mud, y'know, it wouldn't hit you the same way. Or, like, `cardigan', I think it needs that warmth, the kind of fuller feeling to it. It makes it darker, but to me that's where a lot of emotion is."

Effects-wise, almost all of the treatments were done in the box. "There's no outboard reverbs printed," says Dessner. "The only things that we did print would be like an [Eventide] H3000 or sometimes the [WEM] CopiCat tape delay for just a really subtle slap. But generally, it's just different reverbs in the box that Jon was using. He uses the Valhalla stuff quite a bit and some other UAD reverbs, like the [Capitol] Chambers. I often just use Valhalla VintageVerb and the [Avid] Black Spring and simple things."

In some instances, the final mix ended up being the never-bettered rough mix, while other songs took far more work. "'cardigan' is basically the rough, as is `seven'. So, like the early, early mixes, when we didn't even know we were mixing, we never were able to make it better. Like if you make it sound 'good', it might not be as good 'cause it loses some of its weird magic, y'know. But songs like `the last great american dynasty' or 'mad woman', those songs were a little harder to create the dynamics the way you want them, and the pay-off without going too far, and with also just keeping in the kind of aesthetic that we were in. Those were harder, I would say.

"On evermore, I would say 'willow' was probably the hardest one to finish just because there were so many ways it could've gone. Eventually we settled back almost to the point where it began. So, there's a lot of stuff that was left out of 'willow', just because the simplicity of the idea I think was in a way the strongest."

The subject of this month's Inside Track article, 'willow' was the first song written for evermore, immediately following the release of folklore. "It almost felt like a dare or something," Dessner laughs. "We were writing, recording and mixing all in one kind of work stream and we went from one record to the other almost immediately. We were just sort off to the races. We didn't really ever stop since April."

Rubber & Vinyl

Sometimes, Dessner and Swift drew inspiration from unlikely sources; `no body, no crime', for instance, started when he gave her a 'rubber bridge' guitar made by Reuben Cox of the Old Style Guitar Shop in LA. "He's my very old friend," says Dessner of Cox. "He buys undervalued vintage guitars. Stuff that was made in the '50s and '60s as sort of learner guitars, like old Silvertones and Kays and Harmonys. These kinds of guitars which now are quite special, but they're still not valued the same way that vintage Fenders or Gibsons are valued. Then, he customizes them.

"Recently he started retrofitting these guitars with a rubber bridge and flatwound strings. He'll take, like, an acoustic Silvertone from 1958 and put a bridge on it that's covered in this kind of rubber that deadens the strings, so it really has this kind of dead thrum to it. And he puts two pickups in there, one that's more distorted and one that's cleaner. They're just incredible guitars. I thought Taylor would enjoy having one 'cause she loves the sound. So, I had Reuben make one for her and she used it to write `no body, no crime'."

Another friend of Dessner's, Ryan Olsen, has developed a piece of software called the Allovers Hi-Hat Generator which helped create the unusual harmonic loops that feature on `marjorie'. "It's not available on the market," Dessner says of the software. "It's just something that he uses personally, but I think hopefully eventually it'll come out. I wouldn't say it's artificial intelligence software but there's something very intelligent about it [laughs]. It basically analyses audio information and is able to separate audio into identifiable samples and then put them into a database. You then can design parameters for it to spit out sequences that are incredibly musical.

"When Ryan comes here, he'll just take all kinds of things that I give him and run it through there and then it'll spit out, like, three hours of stuff. Then I go through it and find the layers that I love, then I loop them. You can hear it also on the song 'happiness', the drumming in the background. It's not actually played. That's drums that have been sampled and then re-analyzed and re-sequenced out of this Allovers Hi-Hat Generator."

The song `marjorie' is named after Swift's opera-singer grandmother and so, fittingly, her voice can be heard flitting in and out of the mix at the end of the track. "Taylor's family gave us a bunch of recordings of her grandmother," Dessner explains. "But they were from old, very scratchy, noisy vinyl. So, we had to denoise it all using [iZotope's] RX and then I went in and I found some parts that I thought might work. I pitch-shifted them into the key and then placed them. It took a while to find the right ones, but it's really beautiful to be able to hear her. It's just an incredibly special thing, I think."

Meet At The Pond

Taylor Swift finally managed to get together with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff in September 2020 for the filming of folklore: the long pond studio sessions, featuring the trio live-performing the album. It also provided an opportunity for Swift to add her vocals to some of the evermore tracks.

"It did allow us to have more fun, I think," says Dessner. "Y'know, drink more wine and just kinda be in the same place and have the feeling of blasting the music here and dancing around and just enjoying ourselves. She's really a lovely person to hang out with, so in that sense I'm glad that we had that chance to work together in person.

"We were using a [Telefunken] U47 to record Taylor here," he adds. "Either we were using one of the Siemens preamps on the board, which are amazing. Or I have Neve 1064s [preamps/EQs] and we use a Lisson Grove [AR-i] tube compressor generally."

One entirely new song, `tis the damn season', came out of this face-to-face approach, which Swift wrote in the middle of the night after the team had stayed up late drinking. "We had a bunch of wine actually," Dessner laughs, "and then everybody went to sleep, I thought. But I think she must have had this idea swimming around in her head, 'cause the next morning when she arrived, she sang 'Us the damn season' for me in my kitchen. It's maybe my favourite song we've written together. Then she sang it at dinner for me and my wife Stine and we were all crying. It’s just that kind of a song, so it was quite special.”

National Unity

One key track on evermore, 'coney island', features all of the members of the National and sees Swift duetting with their singer Matt Berninger. "My brother [Bryce] actually originated that song," says Aaron Dessner. "I sent him a reference at one point - I can't remember what it was - and then he was sort of inspired to write that chord progression. Then we worked together to sort of develop it and I wrote a bunch of parts and we structured it.

"Taylor and William Bowery [the songwriting pseudonym of Swift's boyfriend, actor Joe Alwyn] wrote 'coney island' and she sang a beautiful version. It felt kind of done, actually. But then I think we all collectively thought, Taylor and myself and Bryce, like this was the closest to a National song."

Dessner then asked the brothers who make up the National's rhythm section, drummer Bryan and bassist Scott Devendorf, to play on 'coney island'. Matt Berninger, as he often does with the band's own tracks, recorded his vocal at home in Los Angeles. "It was never in the same place, it was done remotely," says Dessner, "except Bryan was here at Long Pond when he played. It was great to collaborate as a band with Taylor."

No Compromise

folklore and evermore have been both enormous critical and commercial successes for Taylor Swift. Aaron Dessner reckons that making these anti-pop records has freed the singer up for the future. "I think it was very liberating for her," he says. "I think that's the thing that's been probably the biggest change for her has just been being able to make songs without compromise and then release them without the promotional requirements that she's used to from the past. Obviously, it comes at this time when we're all in lockdown and nobody can tour or go on talk shows or anything. But I think for her probably it will impact what she does in the future.

"But I also think she can shapeshift again," he concludes. "Who knows where she'll go? She's had many celebrated albums from the past, but to release two albums of this quality in such a short time, it really did shine a light on her songwriting talent and her storytelling ability and also just her willingness to experiment and collaborate. Somehow, I ended up in the middle of all that and I'm very grateful."

INSIDE TRACK - Jonathan Low: Secrets of the Mix Engineers

Sound On Sound Magazine // March 2021 issue // By Paul Tingen

From sketches to final mixes, engineer Jonathan Low spent 2020 overseeing Taylor Swift’s hit lockdown albums folklore and evermore.

“I think the theme of a lot of my work nowadays, and especially with these two records, is that everything is getting mixed all the time. I always try to get the songs to sound as finalised as they can be. Obviously that’s hard when you’re not sure yet what all the elements will be. Tracks morph all the time, and yet everything is always moving forwards towards completion in some way. Everything should sound fun and inspiring to listen to all the time.”

Speaking is Jonathan Low, and the two records he refers to are, of course, Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore, both of which reached number one in the UK and the US. Swift’s main producer and co‑writer on the two albums was the National’s Aaron Dessner, also interviewed in this issue. Low is the engineer, mixer and general right‑hand man at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, where he and Dessner spent most of 2020 working on folklore and evermore, with Swift in Los Angeles for much of the time.

“In the beginning it did not feel real,” recalls Low. “There was this brand‑new collaboration, and it was amazing how quickly Aaron made these instrumental sketches and Taylor wrote lyrics and melodies to them, which she initially sent to us as iPhone voice memos. During our nightly family dinners in lockdown, Aaron would regularly pull up his phone and say, ‘Listen to this!’ and there would be another voice memo from Taylor with this beautiful song that she had written over a sketch of Aaron’s in a matter of hours. The rate at which it was happening was mind‑blowing. There was constant elevation, inspiration and just wanting to continue the momentum.

“We put her voice memos straight into Pro Tools. They had tons of character, because of the weird phone compression and cutting midrange quality you just would not get when you put someone in front of a pristine recording chain. Plus there was all this bleed. It’s interesting how that dictates the attitude of the vocal and of the song. Even though none of the original voice memos ended up on the albums, they often gave us unexpected hints. These voice memos were such on‑a‑whim things, they were really telling. Taylor had certain phrasings and inflections that we often returned to later on. They became our reference points.”

Pond Life

The making of the National’s 2017 album Sleep Well Beast and the setup at Long Pond were covered in SOS October 2017; today the studio remains pretty much the same, with the exception of a new desk. “The main space is really big, and the console sits in the middle,” says Low. “In 2019, I installed a 1965 WSW/Siemens, which has 24 line‑in and microphone channels and another 24 line channels. WSW is the Austrian branch of Siemens usually built for broadcast. It’s loaded with 811510B channels. The build quality is insane, the switches and pots feel like they were made yesterday. To me it hints at the warm haze of a Class‑A Neve channel but sits further forward in the speakers. The midrange band on the passive EQ is a huge part of its charm, it really does feel like you’re changing the tone of the actual source rather than the recording. Most microphones go through the desk on their way into Pro Tools, though we sometimes use outboard Neve 1064 mic pres. Occasionally I use the Siemens to sum a mix.

“We have a pair of ATC SCM45 monitors, which sound very clear in the large room. The ceiling is very high, and the front wall is about 25 feet behind the monitors. There are diffusers on the sidewalls and the back walls are absorbing, so there are very few reflections. Aaron and I will be listening in tons of different ways. I’ll listen in my home studio with similar ATC SCM20 monitors or on my ‘70s Marantz hi‑fi setup. Aaron is always checking things in his car, and if there’s something that is bugging him, I’ll join him in his car to find out what he hears.”

Low works at Long Pond and with Dessner most of the time, though he does find time to do other projects, among hem this last year the War On Drugs, Waxahatchee and Nap Eyes. When lockdown started in Spring 2020, Low tacked up on supplies and "had a bunch f mixes lined up". Meanwhile, on the Eest Coast, Swift had seen her Lover Fest our cancelled. With help from engineer aura Sisk, she set up a makeshift studio which she dubbed Kitty Committee in bedroom in her Los Angeles home, and began working with long-term producer nd co-writer Jack Antonoff. At the end of April, however, Swift also started working with Dessner, which took the project in different direction. The impressionistic, atmospheric, electro-folk instrumentals Dessner sent her were mostly composed nd recorded by him at Long Pond, assisted by Low.

Sketching Sessions

The instrumental sketches Aaron makes come into being in different ways," elaborates Low. "Sometimes they are more fleshed-out ideas, sometimes they are less formed. But normally Aaron will set himself up in the studio, surrounded by instruments and synths, and he'll construct a track. Once he feels it makes some kind of sense I'll come in and take a listen and then we together develop what's there.

"I don't call his sketches demos, because while many instruments are added and replaced later on, most of the original parts end up in the final version of the song. We end up in the final version of the song. We try to get the sketches to a place where they are already very engaging as instrumental are already very engaging as instrumental tracks. Aaron and I are always obsessively listening, because we constantly want to hear things that feel inspiring and musical, not just a bed of music in the background. It takes longer to create, but in this case also gave Taylor more to latch onto, both emotionally and in terms of musical inspiration. Hearing melodies woven in the music triggered new melodies."

Not long after Dessner and Low sent each sketch to Swift, they would receive her voice memos in return, and they'd load them into the Pro Tools session of the sketch in question. Dessner and Low then continued to develop the songs, in close collaboration with Swift. "Taylor's voice memos often came with suggestions for how to edit the sketches: maybe throw in a bridge somewhere, shorten a section, change the chords or arrangement somewhere, and so on. Aaron would have similar ideas, and he then developed the arrangements, often with his brother Bryce, adding or replacing instruments. This happened fast, and became very interactive between us and Taylor, even though we were working remotely. When we added instruments, we were reacting to the way my rough mixes felt at the very beginning. Of course, it was also dictated by how Taylor wrote and sang to the tracks."

Dessner supplied sketches for nine and produced 10 of folklore's 16 songs, playing many different types of guitars, keyboards and synths as well as percussion and programmed drums. Instruments that were added later include live strings, drums, trombone, accordion, clarinet, harpsichord and more, with his brother Bryce doing many of the orchestrations. Most overdubs by other musicians were done remotely as well. Throughout, Low was keeping an overview of everything that was going on and mixing the material, so it was as presentable and inspiring as possible.

Mixing folklore

Although Dessner has called folklore an "anti-pop album", the world's number-one pop mixer Serban Ghenea was drafted in to mix seven tracks, while Low did the remainder.

"It was exciting to have Serban involved," explains Low, "because he did things I'd never do or be able to do. The way the vocal sits always at the forefront, along with the clarity he gets in his mixes, is remarkable. A great example of this is on the song 'epiphany'. There is so much beautiful space and the vocal feels effortlessly placed. It was really interesting to hear where he took things, because we were so close to the entire process in every way. Hearing a totally new perspective was eye-opening and refreshing.

"Throughout the entire process we were trying to maintain the original feel. Sometimes this was hard, because that initial rawness would get lost in large arrangements and additional layering. With revisions of folklore in particular we sometimes were losing the emotional weight from earlier more casual mixes. Because I was always mixing, there was also always the danger of over-mixing.

"We were trying to get the best of each mix version, and sometimes that meant stepping backwards, and grabbing a piano chain from an earlier mix, or going three versions back to before we added orchestration. There were definitely moments of thinking, 'Is this going to compete sonically? Is this loud enough?' We knew we loved the way the songs sounded as we were building them, so we stuck with what we knew. There were times where I tried to keep pushing a mix forward but it didn't improve the song — 'cardigan' is an example of a song where we ended up choosing a very early mix."

The Low Down

"I'm originally from Philadelphia," says Jonathan Low, "and played piano, alto saxophone and guitar when growing up. My dad is an electrical engineer and audiophile hobbyist, and I learned a lot about circuit design and how to repair things. I then started building guitar pedals and guitar amps, and recorded bands at my high school using a minidisc player and some binaural microphones. After that I did a music industry programme at Drexel University, and spent a lot of time working at the recording facilities there.

"This led to me meeting Brian McTear, a producer and owner of Miner Street Studios, which became my home base from 2009 to 2014. I learned a lot from him, from developing an interest in creating sounds in untraditional ways, to how to see a record through to completion. The studio has a two-inch 16-track Ampex MM1200 tape machine and a beautiful MCI 400 console which very quickly shaped the way I think about routing and signal flow. I'm lucky to have learned this way, because a computer environment is like the Wild West: there are no rules in terms of how to get from point A to point B. This flexibility is incredible, but sometimes there are simply too many options.

"l met Aaron [Dessned] because singer-songwriter Sharon van Etten recorded her second album, Epic [2010] at Miner Street, with Brian producing. Her third album, Tramp [2012] was produced by Aaron. They came to Philly to record drums and I ended up mixing a bunch of that record. After that I would occasionally go to work in Aaron's garage studio in Brooklyn, and this became more and more a regular collaboration. I then moved from Philly up to the Hudson Valley to help Aaron build Long Pond. We first used the studio in the spring of 2016, when beginning to record the National's album Sleep Well Beast."

Onward & Upward

folklore was finished and released in July 2020. In a normal world everyone might have gone on to do other things, but without the option of touring, they simply continued writing songs, with Low holding the fort. In September, many of the musicians who played on the album gathered at Long Pond for the shooting of a making-of documentary, folklore: the long pond studio sessions, which is streamed on Disney+.

The temporary presence of Swift at Long Pond changed the working methods somewhat, as she could work with Dessner in the room, and Low was able record her vocals. After Swift left again, sessions continued until December, when evermore was released, with Dessner producing or co-producing all tracks, apart from 'gold rush' which was co-written and co-produced by Swift and Antonoff. Low recorded many of Swift's vocals for evermore, and mixed the entire album. The lead single 'willow' became the biggest hit from the album, reaching number one in the US and number three in the UK.

"Before Taylor came to Long Pond," remembers Low, "she had always recorded her vocals for folklore remotely in Los Angeles or Nashville. When I recorded, I used a modern Telefunken U47, which is our go-to vocal mic — we record all the National stuff with that — going straight into the Siemens desk, and then into a Lisson Grove AR-1 tube compressor, and via a Burl A-D converter into Pro Tools. Taylor creates and lays down her vocal arrangements very quickly, and it sounds like a finished record in very few takes."

Devils In The Detail

In his mixes, Low wanted listeners to share his own initial response to these vocal performances. "The element that draws me in is always Taylor's vocals. The first time I received files with her properly recorded but premixed vocals I was just floored. They sounded great, even with minimal EQ and compression. They were not the way I'm used to hearing her voice in her pop songs, with the vocal soaring and sitting at the very front edge of the soundscape. In these raw performances, I heard so much more intimacy and interaction with the music. It was wonderful to hear her voice with tons of detail and nuances in place: her phrasing, her tonality, her pitch, all very deliberate. We wanted to maintain that. It's more emotional, and it sounds so much more personal to me. Then there was the music..."

The arrangements on evermore are even more 'chamber pop' than on folklore, with instruments like glockenspiel, crotales, flute, French horn, celeste and harmonium in evidence. "As listeners of the National may know, Aaron's and Bryce's arrangements can be quite dense. They love lush orchestration, all sorts of percussion, synths and other electronic sounds. The challenge was trying to get them to speak, without getting in the way of the vocals. I want a casual listener to be drawn in by the vocal, but sense that something special is happening in the music as well. At the same time, someone who really is digging in can fully immerse themselves and take in all the beauty deeper in the details of the sound and arrangement. Finding the balance between presenting all the musical elements that were happening in the arrangement and this really beautiful, upfront, real-sounding vocal was the ticket."

A particular challenge is that a lot of the detail that Aaron gravitates towards happens in the low mids, which is a very warm part of our hearing spectrum that can quickly become too muddy or too woolly. A lot of the tonal and musical information lives in the low mids, and then the vocal sits more in the midrange and high mids. There's not too much in the higher frequency range, except the top of the guitars, and some elements like a shaker and the higher buzzy parts of the synths. Maintaining clarity and separation in those often complex arrangements was a major challenge."

In & Out The Box

According to Low, the final mix stage for evermore was "very short. There was a moment in the final week or so leading up to the release where the songs were developed far enough for me to sit down and try to make something very cohesive and final, finalising vocal volume, overall volume, and the vibe. There's a point in every mix where the moves get really small. When a volume ride of 0.1dB makes a difference, you're really close to being done. Earlier on, those little adjustments don't really matter.

"I often try to mix at the console, with some outboard on the two-bus, but folklore was mixed all in the box, because we were working so fast, plus initially the plan was for the mixes to be done elsewhere. I ran a couple of mixes for evermore through the console, and `closure' was the only one that stuck. It was summed through the Siemens, with an API 2500 compressor and a Thermionic Culture Phoenix and then back into Pro Tools via the Burl A-D. I will use hardware when mixing in the box, though mainly just two units: the Eventide H3000, because I have not found any plug-ins that do the same thing, and the [Thermionic] Culture Vulture, for its very broad tone shaping and distortion properties.

"The writing and the production happened closely in conjunction with the engineering and mixing, and the arrangements were dense, making many of the sessions super hefty and actually quite messy. Sounds would constantly change roles in the arrangement and sometimes plug-ins would just stack up. So final mixing involved cleaning up the sessions and stemming large groups down."

Across The Rubber Bridge

The Pro Tools mix session of 'willow' has close to 100 tracks, though there's none of the elaborate bussing that's the hallmark of some modern sessions. At the top are six drum machine tracks in green from the Teenage Engineering OP-1, an instrument that was used extensively on the album. Below that are five live percussion tracks (blue), three bass tracks (pink), and an `AUX Drums' programming track. There's a 'rubber bridge' guitar folder and aux, OP-1 synth tracks, piano tracks, 'Dream Machine' (Josh Kaufman's guitar) and E-bow tracks, Yamaha, Sequential Prophet X, Moog and Roland Juno synth tracks, and Strings and Horns aux stem tracks.

"Most of the drum tracks were performed on the OP-1 by Aaron. These are not programmed tracks. Bryan Devendorf, drummer of the National, programmed some beats on a Roland TR-8S. I ran those though the Fender Rumble bass amp, which adds some woofiness, like an acoustic kit room mic. There's an acoustic shaker, and there's an OP-1 backbeat that's subtle in the beginning, and then gets stronger towards the end of the song. I grouped all the drum elements and the bass, and sent those out to a hardware insert with the Culture Vulture, for saturation, so it got louder and more and more harmonically rich. There is this subtle growing and crescendo of intensity of the rhythm section by the end.

"The 'rubber bridge' guitars were the main anchor in the instruments. These guitars have a wooden bridge wrapped in rubber, and sound a bit like a nylon-string guitar, or a light palm mute. They're very percussive and sound best when recorded on our Neumann U47 and a DI. On many of those DI tracks I have a [SPL] Transient Designer to lower the sustain and keep them punchy, especially in the low end. There's a folder with five takes of 'rubber bridge' guitar in this session, creating this wall of unique guitar sound.

"I treated the 'rubber bridge' guitars quite extensively. There's a FabFilter Pro-Q3 cutting some midrange frequencies and some air around 10kHz. These guitars can splash out in the high end and have a boominess that's in the same range as the low end of Taylor's vocal, so I had to keep these things under control. Then I used a SoundToys Tremolator, with a quarter-note tremolo that makes the accents in the playing a bit more apparent. I like to get the acoustic guitars a little bit out of the way for the less important beats, so I have the Massey CT5 compressor side-chained to the kick drum. I also used the UAD Precision K-Stereo to make the guitars a bit wider. The iZotope Ozone Exciter adds some high mids and high-end harmonic saturation sparkly stuff, and the SoundToys EchoBoy delay is automated, with it only coming on in the bridge, where I wanted more ambience."

Growing Pains

"Once we had figured out how to sit the 'rubber bridge' guitars in the mix, the next challenge was to work out the end of the song, after the bridge. Taylor actually goes down an octave with her voice in the last chorus, and at the same time the music continues to push and grow. That meant using a lot of automation and Clip Gain adjustment to make sure the vocal always stayed on top. There also are ambient pianos playing counter-melodies, and balancing the vocals, guitars and pianos was the main focus on this song. We spent a lot of time balancing this, particularly as the track grows towards the end.

"The vocal tracks share many of the same plug-ins and settings. On the main lead vocal track I added the UAD Pultec EQP-1A, with a little bit of a cut in the low end at 30Hz, and a boost at 8kHz, which adds some modern air. The second plug-in is the Oeksound Soothe, which is just touching the vocal, and it helps with any harsh resonance stuff in the high mids, and a little in the lower mids. Next is the UAD 1176AE, and then the FabFilter Pro-Q3, doing some notches at 200Hz, 1kHz, 4kHz and close to 10kHz. I tend to do subtractive EQ on the Q3, and use more analogue-sounding plug-ins, like the Pultec or the Maag, to boost. After that is the FabFilter Pro-DS [de-esser], taking off a couple of decibels, followed by the FabFilter Saturn 2 [saturation processor], on a warm tape setting.

"Below the vocal tracks are three aux effects tracks, for the vocals. 'Long Delay' has a stereo EchoBoy going into an Altiverb with a spring reverb, for effect throws in the choruses. 'Chamber' is the UAD Capitol Chamber, which gives the vocal a nice density and size, without it being a long reverb. The 'Plate' aux is the UAD EMT140, for the longer tail. These two reverbs work in conjunction, with the chamber for the upfront space, determining where the vocal sits in the mix, and the plate more for the depth behind that.

"At the bottom of the session is a two-bus aux, which mimics the way I do the two-bus on the desk. The plug-ins are the UAD Massive Passive EQ, UAD API 2500 compressor, and the UAD Ampex ATR102. Depending on the song, I will choose 15ips or 30ips. In this case it was set to 15ips, half-inch GP9. That has a nice, aggressive, midrange push, and the GP9 bottom end goes that little bit lower. There's also a PSP Vintage Warmer, a Sonnox Oxford Inflator, plus a FabFilter Pro-L2 [limiter]. None of these things are doing very much on their own, but in conjunction give me the interaction I expect from an analogue mix chain."

#Aaron Dessner #bryce dessner #Jonathan Low #the long pond studio sessions #making of #folklore album #evermore album #interview #about taylor #taylor swift #songwriting #producer #evermore era #folklore era #Sound on Sound Magazine #scans

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likesrandomstuff · 3 years

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Avalance Fic Recommendations Part 4

The final part of this series. Thanks to everyone who reblogged and liked, and a huge shout-out to @heywhereisperry who encouraged and motivated me into doing this.

As I said in Part 1, feel free to add any more stories you think should be recognised to any of these posts, and my ask box is open if you would like more detail on anything.

Part 1: Bite Sized

Part 2: Snacks

Part 3: Meals

Banquets (Over 75,000 words)

When you do not have anything you need to do in the next couple of days

You're My Miracle by bihexualmess

My tags: Ava is FBI, Sara is a Private Investigator, Rip brings Sara on for a case

This just got updated the other week and ruined multiple nights of sleep for me. At almost 350k words, still going, I don’t know how to explain without spoiling stuff that happens a long way in. There are so many layers to both Ava and Sara here, and the trauma, and the issues, and the fact they will not talk to each other about anything. I jumped on this a bit late, as the title and description didn’t grab me, but oh boy, I was missing out. I did get to read a heap of it in one go, but that doesn’t help the slow burn. I would start this even though it’s still a WIP, just because it will take you a while, to read, and also the storylines need time to settle in, because they are heavy, but just amazing. It is now the longest Avalance fic with the latest update.

this is the way that we love (like it's forever) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: College Avalance dated and broke up, five years later they meet again, Ava’s dating someone else

This fic had me crying in the lunchroom during my second week of work because I couldn’t not read during my lunch break, and it was hitting me so hard. That was after starting it at 10pm, reading to 2am, sleeping until 6am, reading until 11am a couple of days before. Warning for major character deaths; the funeral for one is alluded to in the description. If anyone says something bad about Jordan, I will not be happy; one of the best original characters I have ever read in a fic. Sara’s not in a great place initially, but she gets there. And there’s some cute flashbacks to college Legends too.

you make me smile (please stay for a while now) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: High School Rivals AU, Ava’s class president, Sara is the superstar soccer captain, they have more in common than they thought

I just looked at the word count for this, and it must be the first time I have, because wow! It is a journey! There’s a couple of prequel, sequel and interjection stories in this universe too. Ava has to deal with her family not being super supportive when she comes out. Sara has to deal with Laurel struggling and their mum having a clear favourite (Laurel). Most of the Legends have really great arcs in here as well. Ava’s family is great. I wanna hang out with her little sister. Don’t be like 2018 me who gives up after the first chapter because they are mad about what Laurel is going through. She’s fine, and there’s a heap of great Sara and Laurel moments. I recently re-read the last 10 chapters, and I still couldn’t stop myself from reading like it was the first time.

i am who you used to love (and you are just a memory) by justpalsbeingals

My tags: The Vow AU, but Ava makes some better choices early on, they’re married, Ava gets into an accident and loses all memory of Sara

I hate the movie this fic is based on. The movie’s fine, and it was a delight seeing Tatiana Maslany in it while I was watching Orphan Black, but basically it is my worst-case scenario, losing my memory. The fact that this fic kept me hooked despite that, is a testament to the quality. The fic itself says “light angst”, I say it’s much, much heavier than that, but that’s just me. Warning, there are some intense twists in here, and everyone is a bit OOC to me, memory loss being considered, which might not be your thing.

and i will stumble and fall (i'm still learning to love) by lucylikestowrite

My tags: SwanQueen kid fic AU, yes, I know go with me on this, Ava adopted Sara’s unexpected baby, said kid finds Sara years later

In general, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like kid fics. Fics with future children coming back to meet their parents, or the couple going into the future? Some of my favourites ever. This has no time travel, but I trust Lucy. This story is under 75k, but the sequel is almost as long, so combined they’re over. The sequel is a WIP. I didn’t watch Once Upon a Time, but it’s the plot of the start of that, except the gay actually happens. There are a lot of issues our girls have to work through here, but the kid is so cute.

and we could try by plinys

My tags: it’s a story mostly told on twitter through fake screen shots of social media, Sara drunk messages Ava, Ava doesn’t block her

I’m sure this format of storytelling is not for everyone, and that’s okay! I was so confused by it at first. I would recommend starting with the shorter one, I can be your hero (in Part 2), just to see if you like it, before jumping into this. I read this when the epilogue, the fic, was released, and I was up until 5am because I couldn’t stop. It became part of my personality. Story wise, Sara and Ava are on different coasts, but both know Nate, Ray and Nora. Ray and Nora get engaged, and Avalance have to deal with planning that wedding, and whatever is going on with them.

take my hands now by plinys

My tags: Another Social Media twitter AU, Sara is The Canary, Ava is trying to arrest vigilantes, Nate accidently gives Ava Sara’s number

Another brilliant twitter story. Some of our gang is trying to arrest the other half. Sara knows who Ava is, Ava doesn’t know that Sara is the person she’s chasing. Everyone has public twitter accounts. Sara actually gets [spoiler villain] to stop an attack by sending them money for a drink.

your eyes, they shine so bright by plinys

My tags: Social Media AU, everyone works for not Buzzfeed, a colab series is pitched, Sara and Ava’s teams have to work together

Ava makes factual videos, Sara does not, they are forced to work together. Nate is everyone’s boss technically, but they do what they want. Nate and Ava are non-biological siblings, and Satan Camp is a running gag. Oh, fake dating is in there too!

right to the top, don't hold back by SJAandDWfan

My tags: American Ninja Warrior AU, Sara’s a veteran and the Legends train together, Ava’s a rookie, rivals to training partners to friends to …

I re-read this every year when the new Australian season comes out. It’s so burned into my brain that when I was watching the speed climbing at the Olympics I genuinely thought “I wonder how Amaya would go in this?”. Amaya’s pre-Ninja experience is rock climbing in this fic. I learnt so much about Ninja Warrior and how the show (at least in this universe) works, and it’s fascinating. Would recommend watching some clips if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. The story goes pretty in detail about the courses. For recommendations, either Jessie Gaff, who was a S1 Supergirl stuntwoman, or Australia’s own Olivia Vivian, who is just stages better than our next female.

biding our time (until tomorrow) by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Period setting AU, Ava’s too noble for her own good, Oliver’s dad is the villain

This was a really cool experiment. Basically, told in lots of mini chapters like a soap opera. I do not know much about this period of American history, but it did not matter. A lot of different Arrow-verse peeps show up along the way. I’m sure I complained out loud “you’re allowed to want things Ava!” at some point. There’s an attempt for fake dating, and it’s not the homophobia but the second daughter problem that gets them.

Click here to see all the parts

#Avalance fic rec #Avalance #Sara Lance #Ava Sharpe #fanfiction

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jcs-study · 3 years

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This next song is, in my opinion, among the most interesting in the score for a variety of reasons. Let's consider all that there is to consider about "Herod's Song."

Today's performance is by the legendary Alice Cooper, but not from his NBC Live appearance, where he fumbled a lyric, did not seem to act at any moment in which he was singing, and appeared oddly stiff, at least to this viewer. This is, in my estimation, by far the better, more confident performance of the two, and, if one sticks to the traditional arrangement (more about that below), probably the best way to do it overall.

You ready, kids?! i cAn'T hEaR yOu!

The Lyrics

HEROD JESUS I AM OVERJOYED TO MEET YOU FACE TO FACE YOU'VE BEEN GETTING QUITE A NAME ALL AROUND THE PLACE HEALING CRIPPLES RAISING FROM THE DEAD AND NOW I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE GOD AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE SAID

SO YOU ARE THE CHRIST YOU'RE THE GREAT JESUS CHRIST PROVE TO ME THAT YOU'RE DIVINE CHANGE MY WATER INTO WINE THAT'S ALL YOU NEED DO AND I'LL KNOW IT'S ALL TRUE C'MON KING OF THE JEWS

JESUS YOU JUST WON'T BELIEVE THE HIT YOU'VE MADE 'ROUND HERE YOU ARE ALL WE TALK ABOUT THE WONDER OF THE YEAR OH, WHAT A PITY IF IT'S ALL A LIE STILL, I'M SURE THAT YOU CAN ROCK THE CYNICS IF YOU TRY

SO YOU ARE THE CHRIST YOU'RE THE GREAT JESUS CHRIST PROVE TO ME THAT YOU'RE NO FOOL WALK ACROSS MY SWIMMING POOL IF YOU DO THAT FOR ME THEN I'LL LET YOU GO FREE C'MON KING OF THE JEWS

(instrumental)

I ONLY ASK THINGS I'D ASK ANY SUPERSTAR WHAT IS IT THAT YOU HAVE GOT THAT PUTS YOU WHERE YOU ARE? MMM I AM WAITING YES, I'M A CAPTIVE FAN I'M DYING TO BE SHOWN THAT YOU ARE NOT JUST ANY MAN

SO IF YOU ARE THE CHRIST YES, THE GREAT JESUS CHRIST FEED MY HOUSEHOLD WITH THIS BREAD YOU CAN DO IT ON YOUR HEAD OR HAS SOMETHING GONE WRONG? WHY DO YOU TAKE SO LONG? C'MON KING OF THE JEWS

HEY! AREN'T YOU SCARED OF ME CHRIST? MISTER WONDERFUL CHRIST YOU'RE A JOKE YOU'RE NOT THE LORD YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FRAUD TAKE HIM AWAY HE'S GOT NOTHING TO SAY GET OUT YOU KING OF THE GET OUT! MM GET OUT YOU KING OF THE JEWS GET OUT YOU KING OF THE JEWS! GET OUT OF MY LIFE!

The Plot

Herod's palace is a den of iniquity and depredation. He has heard about the many miracles Jesus has performed, and he wants Jesus to prove that he's divine by changing water into wine or walking across his swimming pool! Herod takes sadistic pleasure in tormenting his prisoner, but throughout Herod's sarcastic tirade, Jesus sits in silence, seeing how shallow and inconsequential Herod is, knowing that no matter what he says his situation isn't getting any better, and so refusing to perform for him. Infuriated, King Herod throws Jesus out of his house, sending him back to Pilate.

The Analysis

Well, where do I begin? Firstly, some words from Tim Rice's autobio about the song, including the surprising source of a line that has gone down in history along with the rest of the show:

"King Herod's Song," the Eurovision reject [more about that shortly], turned out to be a show-stopper, with its nasty lyric a sinister counterpoint to the jaunty, Cabaret-influenced melody. Mike d'Abo sang with great gusto, ad-libbing "Get out of my life" at the very end. This ad-lib was later singled out as the best line of the entire work by an American Christian reviewer, the very essence of the entire show -- I was highly praised for pointing out that we are all determined to push Christ out of our lives. Only I hadn't -- Mike d'Abo had. The couplet that always got the big laugh was of course "Prove to me that you're no fool / Walk across my swimming pool" and, as mentioned before, has found its way into several books of twentieth-century quotations. I always regret not being able to come up with an equally good couplet for the final verse, "Feed my household with this bread / You can do it on your head" being rather an anti-climax, not to mention weak re-use of the bread/head rhyme, already heard in the Last Supper singalong. Despite this, the number has always been ecstatically received over the years.

One wonders if, in his frequent spates of revision, Tim will ever find another rhyme for that spot. Speaking of which... as revision goes, aside from performer ad-libs over the years (there are some on this recording, for example) and mild flip-flopping over how to phrase "I only ask things / I'd ask any superstar" (the 1973 film substitutes the word "what" for "things," the 1996 London revival went with "I only ask / The things I'd ask / Of any superstar," neither of which stuck around), it's basically been exactly what it was since 1970. That's rare in JCS terms.

But there have been questions over the years about exactly why it was "what it was" -- namely a kind of raucous, blackly comic, British music hall song and dance number. Andrew Lloyd Webber clears it up in his memoir:

The simple answer to the question "why a vaudeville song?" is that it felt right. Every instinct told me that after the full-on intensity of "Gethsemane," our five-minute set piece for Jesus, and before the final scenes of Judas's death, Jesus's trial, and the harrowing crucifixion, we badly needed something to puncture and lighten the musical mood. A song that stood out stylistically seemed exactly what the constraints of a record demanded. Listeners could imagine their own picture of King Herod and his court of many colors.

Things are pretty intense by the time Jesus is forced to his knees before Herod. Herod injects some levity in the second act at a moment when it is drastically needed -- but, strangely, it makes him seem all the more menacing, turning on a dime from charming eccentric to a dangerous madman. I'd argue that the sudden detour into a melody typical of traditional musical comedy makes sense. It trivializes Herod, shows us how insignificant he is, and paints him as a grotesque man playing at being king.

Not that this has always sat well. Theater historian Scott Miller, for example, while getting Lloyd Webber's selecting this style of music on an intellectual level, contends that "...the use of such different music is a questionable choice. The song doesn't belong with the rest of the show, and certainly, Herod isn't the only villain in the story; why aren't the others portrayed with equally bizarre, non-rock music? As unexpected as it is, introducing this kind of musical anomaly so far into the evening leaves the audience feeling disoriented, and sometimes more hostile toward Rice and Lloyd Webber than toward Herod. Merely using more rock sound in the instrumentation would have helped the number immeasurably, but as it stands, it just doesn't belong. [...] it [...] seems weaker than the rest of the score."

Personally, I think British audiences, who are more familiar with the music hall tradition, probably found this gear shift less jarring than most Americans. But if you share that feeling, then rest assured there are solutions. Many modern productions now massage the music into something closer to rock (note the unusually heavy guitars on the late Rik Mayall's version from the 2000 film), or flat-out rearrange it into something they feel is stronger dramatically and fits better into the score (handy examples include the alt-rock tribute album JCS: A Resurrection by the Indigo Girls and friends, which does it as a 1950s rock number in 6/8; the 1992 Australian revival, which supplied Angry Anderson with an appropriately "arena rock" / heavy metal sound -- I especially like the chorus of "Oi"s toward the end when Herod gets fed up with Jesus' non-compliance; or Jeff Munson's downright awesome conglomeration of Broadway, gospel, and ragtime in the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra version, sadly unrecorded).

Clearing up another mystery is Tim Rice, who explains exactly what the parenthetical subtitle from the concept album was really all about (told you we'd get to the "Eurovision reject" bit!):

Two tunes we had already used in flop ventures were resurrected [for JCS, and one was] that of our Eurovision reject "Try It And See," which had then briefly become "Saladin Days" [for their abortive Joseph follow-up, Come Back, Richard, Your Country Needs You], now wound up as "King Herod's Song." […] We were unable to purchase "Try It And See" back from Norrie Paramor's publishing company. MCA reluctantly accepted that one song in the show would not be their copyright and NP Music in due course did very well indeed from hanging on to their Eurovision tune. As Norrie's company also retained a copyright interest in Joseph, my brief time in his employment ultimately proved very profitable for my ex-boss. Confusingly, on American versions of Superstar, "King Herod's Song" was often listed with its original title alongside and on several occasions U.S. interviewers asked me about the artistic significance of this intriguing subtitle, only to receive a boring answer about music publishing.

Totally Related Op.-Ed.

I know I've been blathering on quite a bit in this post, but I have a bone to pick with the typical portrayal of Herod, going back to the original Broadway production. And what better spot to pontificate on that subject than in a post about his song?

This number is often played merely as silly, comic relief in most productions. And it's clear from Lloyd Webber's quote (far) above that it was, at least in part, intended to play that way as far as he was concerned. But as Rice's words hint with their mention of the "nasty lyric" serving as a "sinister counterpoint" to the melody, there is far more substance in this material than is usually apparent. Herod is goading Jesus, tempting him to prove he has God on his side. For this great philosopher and political leader to be treated so disrespectfully, so grotesquely should be deeply upsetting, particularly with the extra baggage of two thousand years of Christian culture many of us have. "Herod's Song" should be ridiculous, but it should also be scary, dangerous, and disturbing. Most people don't go for that, and more should. (One notable exception is Lars Humble in the 2009 Swedish production, whom a YouTube commentator once dubbed "one of the creepiest Herods ever." I'd supply a link for you to judge for yourself, but the video is sadly no longer available.)

And while we're on the subject of how to play Herod, I'd like to point out that Rice once wrote:

King Herod was a bit of a debauched bloke, who sat around smoking and drinking all the time with a lot of women around him.

Emphasis on women. He's most noted in the Bible for unceremoniously dumping the daughter of a key ally to marry his sister-in-law, which in turn was presumably to get his mitts on his niece (which action purportedly led to the doom of no less a political prisoner than John the Baptist). Yes, he was decadent, but he was a decadent notorious womanizer. So why on earth do most productions make Herod gay?!

Honestly, putting on my activist hat for a second, I think it's a lazy direction from either self-loathing or simple-minded stagers: "The Bible says he's decadent, the music sounds like it's straight out of the living room of Roger De Bris' elegant Upper East Side townhouse on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in June, we all know how decadent the gays are... need I draw you a picture? Now put on these six-inch heels, those acrylic nails, that elaborate headdress, and slap on your war paint! Keep it gay!!" (Which Paul Ainsley actually did in the original Broadway production, and which -- less garishly, in costume at least -- many a performer has done since. Of course, some more than made up for their lack of costuming with an outsized performance, like Reg Livermore in the Australian cast, whose five and a half minutes of self-indulgent, shameless, narcissistic mugging sounds frankly like Paul Lynde on crack crossed with Bette Davis on steroids. It grows on you, much like bacteria grows best in a warm, moist, protein-rich environment.)

It's not that I object to Herod being played gay, because 1) I am queer, and not at all self-loathing about it, and 2) there's some historical precedent. Many current theologians and period historians have found that, like many an aristocrat of the era with a "when in Rome" sensibility, he was well known for keeping many young males around, not just women. Some say that even the Bible contains evidence that at very least the public was okay with aiming homophobic humor in his direction; Luke 13:32 sees no less a person than Jesus calling Herod a "fox," and various sources claim that since the Greek word used was feminine, he was mocking him as not to be feared in much the same way bullies today give queer folks a lot of guff. (Although it's worth noting that keeping a harem of boys doesn't necessarily make him gay or even bisexual as we understand those terms, and the word for "fox" is inherently female in gender in the Greek language, so reading this interpretation into the text as the primary meaning of the metaphor is iffy at best.)

I object to Herod being played gay all the time, likely because the director doesn't know what else to do with the character based on the music. There are plenty of ways to show Herod as silly or goofy without going full-on camp. For example, Boston Rock Opera presented him as a spoiled man-child in a urine-soaked onesie (with a faint hillbilly effect; the performer changed a lyric to "Prove me that you're no dud / Change my water into Bud"), the live concert version of JCS: A Resurrection made him a maniac in a straitjacket (and little else), the notorious Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL gave us essentially "Herod as A Pimp Named Slickback from Boondocks," and the 2012 arena tour, otherwise not noted for its incisive direction, turned him into a Jeremy Kyle / Maury Povich type figure, with a hint of Simon Cowell in the "Lord or Fraud -- text in your votes" aspect.

So... surprise me with something actually creative, please!

Coming Up Next:

Before the next song we'll cover came along, "Herod's Song" played an important role in the show's proceedings, as Lloyd Webber explains:

I sat next to Robert [Stigwood, JCS' producer and his then-manager] by the primitive sound desk and watched the audience file almost reverently into the massive arena [for the premiere of the authorized concert tour in Pittsburgh in 1971]. Even the seats behind the stage had been sold. When we started there wasn’t the usual massive cheer. The audience seemed strangely muted, even after Yvonne [Elliman, as Mary] gave a blinding performance of "I Don't Know How To Love Him." I was slightly panicked. Robert told me not to worry and to wait till the end of "King Herod's Song." Jeff [Fenholt, as Jesus] was a bit tentative at the start of "Gethsemane" but nailed the top notes brilliantly. Still, the audience seemed down. Then it was "King Herod's Song." Robert was right. The audience went totally ballistic. It was like the lid being taken off a pressure cooker. The first-ever live performance ended in triumph. But why did the audience behave like they were at a séance for so long? The answer wasn't complicated. Because Jesus Christ Superstar was constructed for records none of the songs had theatrical applause-grabbing endings. Our aim had been to get the story from A to B as quickly as possible. The only song with any sort of big finish was "King Herod's Song." Some of the songs do have endings now. Theatergoers like to be reassured that their neighbors are enjoying themselves.

But when JCS finally reached a fully realized form onstage as opposed to being a concert tour of (basically) what one could hear on the album, Broadway had different demands, and Rice and Lloyd Webber rose to the occasion to meet them.

Thus, the birth of "Could We Start Again Please?"... analysis of which is coming soon to a blog near you! (This blog, in case that wasn't clear.)

#jcss #spotify #andrew lloyd webber #jesus christ superstar #tim rice #jcs #history #jesus christ super star #jesus christ super-star #song by song #herod's song #king herod's song #alice cooper #Spotify

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