#and also any easy listening version of any Christmas song

[spock-buys-houses]

Airports should be banned from playing Christmas music I think

[devildomwriter]

Their Favorite Christmas Songs

Lucifer (Anything on the nutcracker soundtrack)

Timeless classics like the nutcracker music is what Lucifer loves most. He knows each scene of the ballet by heart and when he hears the song he’ll tell you exactly what’s happening in that chord.

Mammon (12 days of Christmas)

It’s super easy to memorize and he likes to fantasize about getting so many gifts like that. It drives Lucifer mad.

Leviathan (Winter Bells)

Only the Detective Conan anime can have a Christmas song he loves so much. He’s heard every version and often has it on repeat.

Satan (Anything by the jingle cats)

The jingle cats was the greatness gift you could’ve given Satan and simultaneously everyone else’s nightmare. It’s an absolutely adorable rendition of each Christmas song with the words replaced by variations of adorable meows.

Asmodeus (Santa baby)

So relatable. All he wants is everything he deserves and a ring from you of course. He thinks the music is a little sultry and it makes him want to seduce you.

Beelzebub (Rudolph the red nose reindeer)

He’s so happy that poor little Rudolph is now happy with his friends. Mammon isn’t allowed to mention how messed up it actually is because no one wants to see Beelzebub saddened by it. Beelzebub also kind of relates to Rudolph. Back in the Celestial Realm he was often made of for nothing being able to control his powers until Lucifer saw his potential and helped him become someone equal to those who originally looked down on him.

Belphegor (I’ll be home for Christmas)

It’s nice and slow, a good song to relax to and dream of you. He can’t wait for you to visit for Christmas especially for him.

Solomon (We Three Kings)

Although biblically inaccurate because the king’s weren’t by Jesus’s side until much later, Solomon enjoys it because he was one of the many (not just three) kings in disguise and it reminds him of the good old days.

Thirteen (Jingle Bell Rock)

It’s nice and upbeat and makes her wanna dance although she won’t do so in front of everyone except maybe you but only if you’ll dance with her.

Simeon (Hark!)

A classic, it reminds him of earlier days in the Celestial Realm when he and all the brothers would sing glorious praise to his father. It also of course reminds him of the present in which he worships with Raphael, Michael and Luke and hopefully one day with you.

Luke (Silent Night)

He loves it. It’s nice and soft and easy for him to sing. He loves holy Christmas music of course and listens to it before bed every night.

Raphael (O Holy Night)

Raphael enjoys singing this song most, to himself and willingly to others. It reminds him of the night of his father’s miracle. He thinks it’s a lovely song humans made that so accurately describes his feelings.

Michael (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)

He loves this song most out of the song praising his father. He also chuckles to himself when he hears Satan’s name because he can just imagine Lucifer and Satan being annoyed about it. Plus any reminder of the brothers brings him some semblance of bittersweet memories.

Mephistopheles

None of them. He does not want anything to do with Christmas even the songs that curse it’s name. There are some more tolerable than others but the only ones he can slightly tolerate are winter themed and not Christmas specific.

Barbatos

Nothing in particular. He hears them so often because of Diavolo loves them. If he had to choose he’s pick something instrumental like nutcracker songs or Mannheim Steamroller.

Diavolo (Dominic the Donkey)

Listen this song cracks him up so bad you can hear his back-breaking laughter from the House of Lamentation. The song drowns out Diavolo’s worries and Lucifer and Barbatos’s distressed sighs and mumbles of complaint.

[ineffabildaddy]

@celestialcrowley tagged me in an in-depth bio thing (thank u!!!) so here's some stuff about me:

real name: samuel's my full first name so let's say that?

nickname & nickname origins: sam!!! the only people who call me samuel are a couple of my friends when they sort of pretend to scold me, ha. or if they're singing little freak by harry styles but the line is "little freak, samuel" instead of "little freak, jezebel" (i have a tattoo of the words 'little freak' because of how much i love that song. i also am one i guess)

a couple people i know who are lotr fans call me samwise but i haven't read or watched lotr yet so i'm reluctant to accept this as a nickname hehe

sammi is what my sister and my very closest friends call me. if someone i'm not close to calls me that, my sister vetoes lol

ao3: sinchester

social media/s: i have all of the big ones but they're all personal accounts so</3

state country: i'm from the uk. always lived in london, it's the one true love of my life (and it's a character in good omens in its own right, fight me). i will answer ur state question in another way by saying that i usually visit the us once a year (usually for gigs and to see friends) and my last trip was to ny

pets: none</333 my grandparents have two lovely german sheps and a black cat which are my most precious loves though

hobbies: i like reading (fantasy, romance, twentieth-century poetry and nineteenth-century fiction mostly), writing (prose, screenplay and very bad poetry), live music/following tours, vinyl records, tea, whiskey, sitcoms, romcoms, and american traditional tattoos, among other things

personality: i have the most warped and harsh sense of self so i asked my best friend amy to describe my personality. this is what she said:

brb gonna go cry now

favourite holiday: christmas because i love christmas music of the easy listening jazz persuasion, and also because i love a lot of christmas films

favourite food: mac and cheese, bao buns, strawberries

favourite dessert: potentially cheesecake?

favourite colour: baby blue<3

favourite quote/s: "i am an unspeakable of the oscar wilde sort" / "not a southern pansy, the southern pansy", and in the same vein... "i'm not a big fat panda, i'm the big fat panda" / "there are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning, they are leaning out for love and they will lean that way forever"

favourite book/s: call me by your name (sue me), good omens, the fables series, pride and prejudice (cliched i know sorry, i have read all of austen's work but it's her most popular for a reason), the scott pilgrim series, the spud series, the princess bride

favourite tv shows: good omens, avatar: the last airbender, peep show, supernatural (reluctantly), bob's burgers, arrested development, ghosts, yonderland. it's only just come out of course but honorary mention goes to scott pilgrim takes off

favourite film/s: shrek is my favourite of all time. it's just got everything. trust me, i went to film school (i actually did tho). then we've also got the nightmare before christmas, ferris bueller's day off, scott pilgrim, submarine, clueless, deadpool, the princess bride

favourite character/s: sam winchester, aziraphale, crowley, katara, sokka, jack and sally, kitty (ghosts), lucille bluth, envy adams, wallace wells

favourite actor/s: i've always found this a really difficult one to answer but i'll just say mae whitman because she's been in 3 of my favourite things ever and slayed all of them (avatar: the last airbender, arrested development and scott pilgrim)

favourite song/s: my favourite songs of all time are probably...

a certain romance - arctic monkeys

happiness/the gondola man - elliott smith

i used to be someone - kevin devine

i need some sleep - eels (shrek 2 teehee)

the way i loved you - taylor swift

let's call the whole thing off - louis armstrong and ella fitzgerald

that old feeling - frank sinatra (prefer his earliest version of this song to any other versions but i like ella's rendition too)

favourite music genre/s: i listen to pockets of all different guitar music, some pop and some jazz

favourite podcast/s: braving the elements, which is the official podcast for avatar: the last airbender and the avatarverse in general (hosted by the actor of zuko and the actor of korra!!!)

have you ever met a celebrity: oh god, erm... i've met so many musicians and actors (mostly actors that are less well-known) but i'll just mention the most famous ones. on purpose (some of whom i now regret lol): dua lipa, halsey, frank iero, brendon urie, jared padalecki, jensen ackles, jinkx monsoon (and loads of other drag race queens, but she's my favourite). by accident as they've come into my work: matt berry (i died), rob delaney, a couple of actors from sex education, sharon rooney (i actually bumped into her on the way to work oops). people i see around my local area or my area of work but haven't met: graham coxon from blur, peter capaldi, olly alexander. i know i've forgotten people but they'll come back to me hah - living in north london and working in central london means you do tend to see famous people sometimes

have you ever been to a concert: not sure exactly how many but my estimate is 200+. one band i've seen 37 times alone... but yeah, i follow two tours a year on average and then i'll go to gigs as a one-off for artists i don't commit as hard to lmao

do you collect anything: vinyl and soft toys! i also like to have lots of different interesting teas in my cupboard

do you have any idols: not sure i could call anyone i like an idol of mine but i naturally want to be neil gaiman when i grow up. i also would absolutely love to be as good at words as leonard cohen was. i guess taylor swift because i love her more than almost any other musician and have done since i was 8 years old but... she's a person at the end of the day (and a billionaire which is questionable)

is there a real life friend you can be completely yourself with: i feel i can be entirely myself around @icanbeurangle, among a few other people from different parts of my life. the person who wrote my little personality bio above, along with our mutual friend, and then a couple of friends i've known since school. i've also got friends who started off as internet friends but are now irl friends (the uk is a small place) who come under this category uwu

where would you love to travel to: off the top of my head, new zealand and mexico. i'd also like to see more of wales (i only went once or twice as a small child)

random fact about yourself: i'm an identical twin? it doesn't feel random at all but yeah haha

if you made it this far without falling asleep, well done!!! thank u so much for reading, i hope u didn't bore u to tears<3 i've missed out a couple questions where i addressed them already in a previous answer

no pressure tags (but i want to read up on u all!!!): @raining-stars-somewhere-else @sad-chaos-goblin @crowleyslvt @indigovigilance @icanbeurangle @bowtiepastabitch @genderqueer-hippie

[anautumncarol]

omg is that leila back with useless facts? haha you bet your sweet ass it is.

so i figured as i am nearing the dreaded adulthood i should probably pretend to learn how the fuck a spreadsheet works since it could be more useful than writing everything out in some random notebook andd since skz’s discography is gargantuan i was kinda right for once.

now what does skz’s discography have to do with me learning how to use a spreadsheet? well i decided to see skz’s songs from the most streamed to the least streamed because what else am i supposed to do? actual work?

So here is the complete list (get ready, it gets a bit long) from most streamed to least streamed skz song on spotify

God’s Menu

MANIAC

Thunderous

Back Door

MIROH

CASE 143

Red Lights

My Pace

Hellevator

Charmer

DOMINO

Side Effects

Christmas EveL

Easy

S-Class

Double Knot

VENOM

CHEESE

Get Cool

District 9

CIRCUS

ALL IN

TASTE

Mixtape : OH

Silent Cry

I am YOU

TOP (Kr + Jp versions)

Victory Song

Neverending Story

SLUMP (Kr + Jp versions)

GO LIVE/The Tortoise and the Hare

Any

WOLFGANG

Levanter

Voices

Going Dumb

FREEZE

Wow

N/S

Sorry, I Love You

Ex

Lonely St.

Insomnia

Mixtape : On Track

Awkward Silence

Surfin’

Mixtape : Time Out

The View

Muddy Water

Another Day

3RACHA

Boxer

Grow Up

Mixtape : Gone Days

Maze of Memories

Scars

Chronosaurus

Blueprint

Phobia

Question

SSICK

Secret Secret

Waiting For Us

TA

Astronaut

We Go

THE SOUND

Airplane

M.I.A.

19

Pacemaker

Here Always

SUPER BOARD

Haven

CHILL

Spread My Wings

B Me

Gone Away

TOPLINE

Star Lost

Sunshine

YAYAYA

Winter Falls

BEWARE

Mirror

Hall of Fame

Mixtape#2/Behind The Light

3rd Eye

Give Me Your TMI

My Universe

Super Bowl

TMT

Deep end

ROCK

Mixtape#4/Broken Compass

ITEM

Mixtape#1/Placebo

Maknae On Top

You Can STAY

Can’t Stop

My Side

0325

Awaken

Mixtape#3/For You

FAM

Hello Stranger

Limbo

Connected

DLC

GET LIT

Drive

24 to 25

Booster

Collision

Your Eyes

Youtiful

STOP

GLOW

FNF

Hero’s Soup

Road Not Taken

DOODLE

School Life

Stars and Raindrops

WHO?

i hate to admit

There

Up All Night

Fairytale

CALL

4419

DLMLU

ice.cream

Love Untold

YOU.

Hoodie Season

ZONE

#LoveStay

Because

miss you

NOT!

RUN

Hug Me

I GOT IT

Alien

Entrance

Lost Me

Streetlight

Close

Wish You Back

One Day

Battle Ground

Piece Of A Puzzle

Novel

HaPpY

Close To You

And that’s it for today. These are bound to change but those are the stats and they definitely reinforce me telling everyone to listen I Am YOU because this is physical proof you’re all missing out. Also Levanter is by far the most underrated title track in lowkey all of kpop, I mean look at this.

[televinita]

Am listening to Taylor Swift music again, and have been seized by the need to talk through some of her older albums -- favorite songs, personal history, whatever comes to mind. Maybe in yet another attempt to try and figure out my overall fave / ranking of them as a set? No real order is planned for this so I thought I’d start with this one, because I realized I actually hadn’t listened to it in quite some time.

(I don't really know what this mini-project is going to be but I’ve been noodling on it for a few nights and now seems as good a time as any to share.)

Background/Overview

When it was new -- and a 2010 Christmas present for me -- it was my favorite of the three, but now I'm not sure. The thing is that it has several songs I like better than the entirety of Fearless (except for #1 fave Change), but it also has a handful I find less interesting compared to that one’s “13 track listings, stars beside them all” success, and I can’t decide how to weight that. It does absolutely have the prettiest cover and booklet, though.

Songs

Ask me my favorite song on this album and I’ll say without hesitation Long Live. I don’t think that will ever change; it’s in my all-time-faves across her whole discography. The twin/companion piece to Change, it never fails to make my heart sing. It came out after I was an adult but it still makes me nostalgic and occasionally teary as hell for high school. Bonus association: this was my mental soundtrack for the end of Glee season 3 too (”for a moment, a band of thieves in ripped-up jeans got to rule the world").

Runner-up faves are Haunted, which really lives up to its name (Wuthering Heights-haunted style, maybe... between the electric guitar tearing open the scene and the chimes, the instrumentation is epic; this may be the only song that actually loses emotional impact as an acoustic/piano version), Better Than Revenge (which is my not-even-that-guilty pleasure and I will JAM OUT to it to this day; "no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity" is SAVAGE and I love it), and The Story of Us ("looks like a lot like a tragedy now" is one of my favorite quotes to bust out in episode reviews about ‘ship destruction, or was when I still did those), which is similarly jam-out-worthy. Ooh, and Sparks Fly is one of those songs where I'm like, "WHY wasn't this a single, it's so good." I’m actually always kind of surprised that one isn’t the album opener; “my mind forgets to remind me you’re a bad idea” is my anthem for giving shows/ships/characters/episodes way more chances than they deserve. (Grey’s Anatomy. We’re mostly talking about every time I dip back into the Grey’s Anatomy waters). In slow-songs-I-like territory: Enchanted, which is frankly too pretty for the person it’s actually about (but helpfully easy to apply to anyone and relevant to every listener’s life). And Back to December, which suffers rather unjustly from my knowing that it’s about The Boring Taylor, because I used to automatically skip it about half the time, yet every time I actually listen to it I'm shocked to realize it’s way prettier than I remember. Both musically (when male vocals...enhance?? a taylor song??) and lyrically.

As far as the other singles, I kind of killed Mine for myself with overplay, but I do think it's one of the strongest singles she's ever released...and as I’m listening to it now, I think it might be back! What good music, what a sweet scenario, and how much do I love the “brace myself for the goodbye / ‘cause that’s all I’ve ever known...” part.

Mean is fun and deservedly sassy, although it too is recovering from overplay (with the added demerit of being covered in the worst, least appealing possible way on Glee and feeling tainted forever. Once upon a time this was in my top 5 for the CD). Speak Now is fun too, but also...damn, so much more juvenile and mean-spirited to me now than Better Than Revenge. You don't help a dude ditch his bride at their wedding! If he shouldn't be marrying her you talk to him BEFORE THE CEREMONY???? I have definitely lost enchantment with this one over time.

One I don’t know how to feel about: I have to be in the right mood for the song so I don’t always let it play through, but as a late bloomer homebody and perpetual looker-backer, the second half of Never Grow Up really kicked me in the heart when I first heard it. I thankfully never ended up having to experience this, but "here I am in my / new apartment in the big city / they just dropped me off / it's so much colder than I thought it would be / so I tuck myself in, and turn the nightlight on" really described all my deepest fears about graduating from college and still brings a twinge at the mere thought.

On the downturn: unpopular opinion but while Dear John is full of great lyrics, it’s just so damned slow that I skip it almost every time. I’m really hoping it gets reinvigorated by a Taylor’s Version, because whenever I give it a chance, I just end up freshly disappointed by the wasted potential.

Innocent is slightly more compelling music-wise, but still rather slow and often skipped, not least because it just...feels weird. Uneven. There are some great lines and a good idea buried in here, but with its history and context it's so patronizing even when I’m on Taylor’s side that it ends up cringe.

Meanwhile, Last Kiss doesn't even exist to me. It covers the same criminal territory as Back to December but it's EVEN SLOWER. Bonus Tracks I didn't hear them until the end of 2012 and even then only as standalones on Spotify, separate from the album associations, I absolutely love all three, more than the last 5 or 6 above in fact. Ours is the companion piece / sequel to "Mine," If This Were A Movie is sweet, and Superman is so cute and catchy.

[bigboxochristmas]

Yuletidings 2023, Part One: Cleese Navidad!

1.   Deck the Halls with Rubber - Jeff St. Pierre & Phillip Antoniades

2.   Angels We Have Heard On High - The Decibels

3.   Feels Like Christmas - Maiah Wynn

4.   Monsieur la Neige - Castel et Casti

5.  Go Tell It on the Mountain - Kelley Hunt

6.   Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Joel Paterson

7.   Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa - Stevie Wonder

8.   What Christmas Means to Me - Overboard

9.   Roaring Fire - Emily Aldridge

10. Happy Christmas - Washington & Clarke

11. Hang Your Balls On The Christmas Tree - Kay Martin & Her Bodyguards

12. Rusby Shepherds -  Kate Rusby

13. Nothin' For Christmas - Eartha Kitt

14. Sleigh Ride - The Soulful Strings

15. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - Gabrielle Aplin

16. Christmas Time is Here Again - The Weeklings

17. I Know Santa's Been Here - Michelle Wright

18. Fum, Fum, Fum - Hollywood Trombones

19. The Three Wise Stooges - Michael Saxson

20. Pimp My Sleigh - Houseman

21. Joy To The World - David Ian

22. It's One Day Closer To Christmas - Sammy Watkins

23. Auld Lang Syne - Husky Team

24. Let No Walls Divide - Doris Day

25. The Night Before Christmas (Excerpt) - John Cleese

-------------------------

This year’s collection is more or less bookended by a pair of soundalike versions of famous popular songs.  I can pretty much guarantee that you’ve never heard “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” or “Auld Lang Syne” arranged like this.

Other highlights:

Joel Paterson, an interestingly retro guitar stylist who wears his Les Paul and Chet Atkins influences on his sleeve.  He’s done a couple of Beatles cover albums and a couple of Christmas albums as well.  His take on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is appropriately jaunty.

I was literally in the process of finalizing the mix for this year’s compilation when a new holiday album from Kate Rusby (Light Years, her seventh) appeared, so I had to stop everything and find a track to include.  I first discovered her lovely works, always impeccably arranged, produced and performed, a few years back and have made use of her recordings, both serious and silly, a number of times in these collections.

When Eartha Kitt had a huge success with the slinky “Santa Baby” in 1953, the powers that be at her label decided, as label execs tend to do, that what she needed was a follow-up that sounded just like it.  So in 1955 she recorded a version of the then-popular novelty song “Nuttin’ for Christmas”, retitled as “Nothin’ for Christmas”, with the lyrics completely re-written to sound saucy in the manner of “Santa Baby”: instead of the refrain, “Cause I ain’t been nothin’ but bad”, for example, “Cause I didn’t want to be bad” was substituted, with Eartha lyrically turning down offers of various “gifts” from would-be seducers. The song also makes use of almost the exact same arrangement as “Santa Baby”, right down to the “Boom, boom-boom, ba-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom” background chorus.  I don’t know whether it sold well or not, but it’s a lot of fun.

The Soulful Strings were what Mantovani and other purveyors of easy-listening might have sounded like had they worked for Motown or Stax: heavy strings, of course, but with soul-jazz funk as the engine.  This version of “Sleigh Ride” is way cool.

I often like to include one or more Beatles-related tracks in these compilations, and this year having seen the release of one more (and allegedly final) Beatles song, “Now and Then”, it seems only right to share the Weeklings’ version of “Christmas Time is Here Again”, originally from the Beatles’ 1967 fan club Christmas message of the same name.  This song has been covered by a number of artists (including Ringo Starr) despite the fact that it consists of nothing more than a chorus without any verses, and the Weeklings do a great job of padding it out with musical quotes from “Flying” and “Baby, You’re a Rich Man”.  This is preceded by a lovely, wistful arrangement of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by a singer named Gabrielle Aplin.

And what holiday season is complete without a visit from the Three Wise Stooges, who can always be counted on to keep the crash in the créche.

The arrangement of “Let No Walls Divide”, recorded by Doris Day in 1961, is more than a little bombastic, not to say completely over the top, but the song’s sentiment is a nice way to close out this year’s collection…

Except, of course, for the coda: given the title of this compilation, it seemed absolutely necessary to include an excerpt from the mighty John Cleese’s unique interpretation of “The Night Before Christmas” (You can hear the whole thing at the link below).

Many thanks again to Ernie at https://ernienotbert.blogspot.com/ and B-Man of Radio Vickers for their bountiful holiday music shares.

The cover art was swiped and modified from a publicity shot for a personal appearance of some kind by Mr. Cleese.

-------------------------

“The Night Before Christmas”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-uNQ2oQACk

DOWNLOAD

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

Hiii!! How are you?? For the ask game

3 films you could watch for the rest of your life and not get bored of?

fave song at the moment?

any hobbies?

Xx

This ask game

HELLO

Ok so much to unpact here let’s go.

My favorite films are True Lies (the old version with Jamie Lee Curtis from 1994). I used to watch it with my sister once a year at least, and we still do it regularly. There is something in this movie that brings me all the joy. Then we have (and I don’t make the rules) A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff from forever ago. I’ll watch this when I’m sad and it’s nostalgic and will cheer me up always. And then we have Gladiator which I thinks contains drugs of some kind because I watch it and immediately loose my entire mind. It’s so poetic and beautiful and heartwrenching and the visuals are crazy and I just—I love it. Love it love it love it.

My fav songs at the moment are on this playlist but it’s Sand by Dove Cameron and Stronger Than Me by Sarah Cothran and ALSO Gibson Girl by Ethel Cain. Also I was a bit sad recently and listened to The Songcord a lot.

Hobbies I HAVE SO MANY. So my friend Rea explained how to bookbind in detail and I’ve been FULLY absorbed into it. I’m making everyone bookbinds of their fav fics for christmas.

I love puzzles. I’ll listen to audiofics and puzzle for hours, though recently I’ve been on a rampage listening to ShxtsnGigs while I do it. It’s easy and stupid and makes me laugh and I needed that.

I rollerskate a lot, and I write (obvi) and I do henna and all kinds of manual crafts.

What do you doooo 👀?

[somewheric]

230821 "The Way THE BOYZ Dye The Summer" - TBZ for Rolling Stone Korea [Full Translation]

RSK - (As of the time of the interview,) you’re about to comeback with your 2nd full album, [PHANTASY]. You’re returning 6 months after the release of your 8th mini album [BE AWAKE]. What was on your mind while preparing for this album?

Q: I always have the same thing on my mind when preparing for albums, so for this 2nd full album of course I kept thinking "I hope TheBs like it!". I would like it if we could enjoy this album together since we’ve worked hard preparing it.

Hyunjae: My biggest feeling was "let’s have fun promoting and not have any stress". As this comeback is one with easy listening songs that can be listened to lightly, we hope TheBs can listen to it comfortably too.

Younghoon: I thought a lot "I want to show songs and stages TheBs can enjoy". Personally, I believe this title track <LIP GLOSS> can give TheBs plenty of smiles and happiness. I practiced a lot with the members to convey that even better on stage. I would like for TheBs and THE BOYZ to enjoy and be happy during these promotions.

Sunwoo: If I were to choose what my focus was, it was working hard to make a stage that fits the vibes of a lighthearted, enjoyable easy listening song. Also, since I took part in writing the lyrics for the title <LIP GLOSS> and the side tracks, I went into work trying to really imagine and feel the main themes of “fantasy” and “Christmas in August”. 

RSK - If you could describe this album in your own words?

Juyeon: Fireworks.

Kevin: Christmas in August.

New: Just like the title of [PHANTASY] Part 1 is “Christmas in August”, I would describe it as “a midsummer Christmas”. 

Jacob: I want to describe it as “freshness”. In this particularly hot summer, I want to blow away the heat with a song filled with something refreshing.

RSK - While working on this album, which part did you put your heart and soul into?

Haknyeon: We filmed the MV and took our concept pictures in Siargao island in the Philippines, and thanks to that I think we could show a number of things. In order to show TheBs beautiful scenery, we filmed while battling the hot sun, so I hope they can watch everything nicely.

Sangyeon: I/We put a lot of effort especially in working out. For the first revealed version, “Present”, we took our tops off, and we wore many cool clothes to fit the “summer” concept theme, so we had to pay special attention to our bodies.

Eric: Since the title track <LIP GLOSS> is an easy listening, comfortable to listen to song filled with refreshing elements, I/we worked hard to convey those elements on stage.

RSK - We’re curious about the other songs in the album too.

Jacob: Every song has so much charm. This album particularly has easy listening songs that can be listened to comfortably without any burdens, and that can fit many people’s summer playlists.

Sangyeon: All songs are nice, but I want to talk more about <Fire Eyes> out of the side tracks. I’m very curious and nervous to see how our fans will feel about it, as it’s a song that is a new challenge for THE BOYZ. It’s a strongly addictive song that makes me naturally excited as I listen to it. And it’s also a song that makes me think of the night sky.

New: Starting with a refreshing “summer carol” and followed by songs where you can see excellent vocals and varied emotions, this album is comprised of tracks of different genres. All songs have their own storylines, so I think you would like it if you followed the stories in each song until the last track.

RSK - You’re meeting TheBs in several countries and cities through your world tour. You’ve been meeting your fans in Korea, of course, then Japan, Taiwan, Macau, Manila, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok. We’re curious to hear if there’s any particular memory that stayed with you. 

Hyunjae: Every performance is special. I grew much, much more grateful to TheBs [through the tour].

Q: I wanted to say one more time that I’m so very grateful to all TheBs for giving us so much strength and energy, and what comes to mind now is that Macau TheB had incredible energy. That’s still on my mind!

Younghoon: While doing this tour, to me the happiest moment was when the concert was ending and TheBs would hold the slogans and make an event for us. At every concert, that scene is the most memorable moment to me. It’s so lovely and cute.

Haknyeon: I liked every performance, but I honestly got emotional when TheBs would sing <Timeless> together in Korean. It made me very happy and it was a really emotional moment to see the fans in different countries singing our song in Korean.

RSK - Isn’t it hard to adapt to a tight schedule? It must be very taxing physically and emotionall, so how do you deal with it?

Juyeon: When it’s too busy, instead of trying to excel and do my best at every moment, I rather try to enjoy it and let it flow like water. I think I have good stamina.

Kevin: Even if it’s chaotic, I take some time to videocall my family in Canada. I think my stamina got better actually because I have different schedules everyday. (laughs)

Eric: Since I’m the kind to have a lot of energy, I don’t get exhausted or burdened because of the schedule. But since I have many worries and things on my mind, when I’m having a hard time I share my troubles openly with the people I trust and relieve stress that way. Especially with TheBs. (laughs)

Sunwoo: If I get stressed, I’m the kind to talk to fans or do a hobby on my own to relieve it.

RSK - It’s been 7 years since your debut in 2017. What do you feel when you look back at that point in time?

Jacob: I feel that time goes by pretty fast. I grew and got a lot of experience, so it was a meaningful time!

Hyunjae: To be honest, back then I didn’t really know what was what, so I couldn’t fully grasp [the situation]. The debut era was harder and more strenuous than actually enjoyable.

Sangyeon: I think the biggest difference between now and our debut is that back then I didn’t know many things. It always feels surprising when I think we’ve already been promoting as THE BOYZ for so long, and while promoting I learned a lot. But of course my heart for TheBs is always the same and full of love.

Younghoon: Looking back at our debut days and looking around us now, TheB is with us at all times. I’m really grateful to our TheBs who have trusted and followed us until now. Moving forward, I want to repay in our, in my own way and give you love.

RSK - What’s the biggest difference between now and before your debut?

Q: I think originally I had a personality that wasn’t very full of aegyo, but now I’ve gotten a lot of aegyo.

Juyeon: I think I grew confident in myself and learned to enjoy myself more.

Kevin: I think the synergy of our members taking care of each other has solidified [over time].

New: There’s so many things that are different now. More than anything, I think THE BOYZ has grown a lot.

RSK - Don’t you have new challenges you want to tackle? Be it within music or not.

Haknyeon: Music-wise, I want to challenge a new genre. As to what genre, later if the album comes out, I’ll tell TheBs first.

Eric: Personally, I want to try a cool and intense or exciting hip hop genre song! As I’m constantly working on songs, I’d like to see the day come when we can show TheBs a new THE BOYZ song made by me. (laughs)

Sunwoo: I want to produce my own solo album.

RSK - What kind of musician do you want to be remembered as in a distant future?

Hyunjae: I want [us] to be remembered as the group that represents K-Pop.

Kevin: I want to be remembered as an artist who always challenged himself to new things and who warmed people’s hearts with his music!

Sangyeon: I want to always incorporate different [kinds of] music and show performances that are not afraid of challenges.

Younghoon: In a distant future, I want us to be a group like Girls’ Generation sunbaenims. They each do their best in their own paths, but when they come together as a team and do their best I think they’re so cool and admirable.

Sunwoo: I want to be remembered as a person of many talents. (T/N: All-rounder)

Jacob: I want to be a singer you can relate to and whose music makes you feel comfortable!

Juyeon: This is such a tough question, but I want to be a person who doesn’t get stagnant and keeps evolving.

Q: I want to hear the words “I was happy, I enjoyed it, and I don’t regret spending time together”!

New: I want to stay as “the boy we loved”.

Haknyeon: I want to become the person, the musician that when we think of the times we spent together with TheBs who loved us, the members, and our supportive staff, will think “it was fun being together then, huh”, and “it was nice!”.

Eric: In a distant future, I want to be remembered as the boy who sincerely loved TheBs. Forever.

(source; translation may contain inaccuracies!)

[justbiran]

What kpop groups (and soloists) each dndads character could stan (and a favorite song): (from a predominantly girl group stan)

Darryl Wilson - Berrygood (Angel). Darryl has to be a cute concept guy, you won't convince me otherwise

Henry Oak - LOONA (Butterfly), IU (eight), Taeyeon (Happy), those who have good messages in their songs with self love and what not.

Ron Stampler - Itzy (Dalla Dalla), Hyuna (Red), groups with fun/interesting dances

Glenn Close - Rolling Quartz (Blaze), Nflying (Hot Potato), and any group's Christmas songs

Jodie Foster - CLC (Pepe and Hobgoblin), Nature (I'm So Pretty and Girls) and other groups that started out with one concept but then sorta... Flipped.

Erin O'Neil - I would go with GWSN (Red Sun) or Nature (Allegro Cantabile) due to their names, however for the plants vibe I can't help but go with Gfriend (Apple)

Scam Likely - Billlie (Everybody's Got a $ecret), Weeekly (Zig Zag), weirdly spelled names? Scam is a fan

Mark Likely - F(x) (Four Walls), GWSN (Like It Hot), They definitely like the androgynous members

Paeden Bennetts - NCT (Kick It), SuperM (Tiger Inside), Ryu Sujeong (Tiger Eyes), Tigers? Fighting? Do I need to explain?

Grant Wilson - Exo (The Eve or Love Shot), Girls Generation (The Boys), 2nd Gen SM groups, and well, 👀

Lark Oak-Garcia - EXID (LIE), Red Velvet (Peekaboo), songs that have kinda dark mvs but you'd never know from the sound of the song

Sparrow Oak-Garcia - Mamamoo (Decalcomanie), songs: Easy (WJSN Black) & Black Dress (CLC), women in suits because all women are strong and powerful.

Terry Jr - SF9 (Mamma Mia), Block B (Jackpot & Yesterday), fun songs by high energy groups

Nick Close - Stray Kids (Hellevator), (G) I-DLE (Oh My God), self produced groups, but also... With the songs.... Must I explain?

Lincoln Li-Wilson - BoA (Atlantic Princess), Celeb 5 (I wish I could unsee that), old timer stuff because wbk Link is a granny

Normally 'Ly Oak-Swallows-Garcia - Weeekly (After School), Lovelyz (Cameo - Queendom version), Day6 (What Can I Do), AOA (Heart Attack) school concept school concept school concept

Scary Marlowe - Dreamcatcher (She claims to like Chase Me and You and I the most but secretly she also is obsessed with Minx and continue to listens to Shut Up), Dalshabet (Hit U), Pink Fantasy (Fantasy) Groups with a heavier concept, but not always

Taylor Swift - Day6 (If), Gfriend (Navillera), Dreamcatcher (Eclipse), He really just likes the groups that made anime openings or have an anime sound

[avinaccia]

A Completely Objective and Logical Ranking of Every Hetalia Character Song

New character songs are dropping,  I have too much time on my hands, let’s go. 

Also here’s a Youtube playlist for the ~✨nostalgia✨~

Bring it on in the tags 

71. Ah Legendary Class⭐The Awesome Me Highway [Prussia]: Absolutely tearing it up on the drums and on the vocal cords alike (I pray for Atsushi Kousaka). Great for the memes. 

70.  Happy Thoughts Museum [???]: This is listed as an official song but I had literally never heard of the title. Then I listened to it and BAM! Smack back to 2013 watching the teasers for the show on Funimation. Not sure I’d count it as a character song though...

69. (Nice)  My Song that is written by me for me [Prussia]: Deafened me but I can appreciate the industrial grind.

68.  My House is...Quiet. ~With the Trolls~ [Norway]: I have never heard this song, nor can I find any version of it online. By default it goes here and I am so sorry Norge.

67.  Make a Wish to Santa♪ [Sealand]: The discordant notes and childish exuberance only serve to make this sound like a demonic plea to Santa to eliminate the singer’s enemies.

66.  Heaven and Hell on Earth [Rome]: Rome sounds like he’s been in the corner of a restroom. Extra points for the metal version, minus points for the fact that the beach scene was replayed like 1764 times.

65. Canada Complete Introduction [Canada]: Quiet af until Kumacheerio shows up and blows out your speakers. they did you dirty my darling 😔

64.  It’s Easy!!! [America]: I don't think any video of this has ever stayed up for more than 20 seconds. Sounds cool, but like I was listening to 20 different genres at once, someone make him calm down.

63.  Bù Zàiyì the Small Stuff ☆ [China]: I cannot for the life of me find the complete song anywhere, clips have a cool beat though

62.  Let's Boil Hot Water♪ [Italy]: Exactly what it says on the tin..though a bit too close to elevator music for my tastes.

61.  The Fragrance of Early Summer [Japan]: Very ‘from the books’ Japan-esque song

60.  Peace Sounds Nice…[Baltic Trio]: All well and good until the radio demon shows up

59.  W●D●C ~World Dancing~ [America]: How a song can sound like it’s from 4 different decades at once is beyond me

58.  Overflowing Passion [BFT]: This is just drunken karaoke and I have 0 clue what’s going on #iconicforallthewrongreasons

57. Ren●Ren●Renaissance♪ [Rome+Chibitalia]: Wholesome Grandpa with Grandson content - barring the fact that Italy sounds on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Rome has had too much wine.

56.  Roma Antiqua [Rome]: Similar energy to any one of China’s songs - there’s a part of the song where it sounds like he’s singing in the shower, and I will never not laugh at [CENSORED]

55.  Country From Where the Sun Rises, Zipangu [Japan]: Very chill, very Japan, but just meh for me.

54.  Moon Over Emei Shan [China]: Good message, okay song.

53.  My Friend [England]: What a mind palace you must have Mr. Kirkland

52.  With Love, from Iceland [Iceland]: Three words: Heavy. Metal. Puffin.

51.  Having Friends is Nice...♫ [Russia]: Russia is the cutest thing ever

50.  Mm. [Sweden]: Smooth transition from WWE Smackdown to shopping at IKEA.

49.  Why don’t you come over? ~Beyond the Northern Lights~ [Iceland]: I don’t want to be mean but...this does sound like the second closing theme to an anime whose first closing was much more popular (à la Soul Eater)

48. Gakuen☆Festa [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Sounds like a 60s song of the summer but oh dear their voices do not go together. Hella cute though.

47.  Wa! Wa!! World Ondo [Main Cast]: One time I travelled 10 hours in a coach bus with a bunch of teenagers to a city of note in my country, and the only souvenir I bought was the fucking PAINT IT WHITE DVD. Perfectly chaotic, UN ĐĕùX~~

46.  In the Bluebell Woods [England]: In the album cover for this song he’s holding a guitar but this is not a rock song. Still has ‘running through the hills’ levels of dramatism though.

45.  Poi Poi Poi♪ [Taiwan]: You’re telling me that Taiwan, someone whose has *ONE LINE* in Beautiful World (which is criminal tbh what kind of representation-) managed to get an eNTIRE CHARACTER SONG???????

44.  White Flame [Russia]: There’s something to be said for a song that is 3x the length of any Hetalia episode

43.  Ich liebe… [Germany]: Baking cakes for your friends has never been so wholesome.

42.  We Wish you a Merry Christmas [America, China, England, France, Russia]: Nice to see they’ve gotten their shit together since United Nations Sta-hmm.

41.  Ah, Worldwide à la mode [France]: Sounds like a Disney Princess song, hard not to picture France frolicking in a field of flowers.

40.  Che Bello! ~My House is the Greatest!⭐~ [Italy]: Would not be out of place in an advertisement for Sea World.

39.  May You Smile Today [Japan]: THE feel good song of the summer

38.  Let’s Look Behind the Rainbow [Italy]: I will protect you.

37.  I'm your HERO☆ [America]: “Anyone who’s sad or sullen will be arrested” did NOT age well.

36.  Mein Gott! [Prussia]: Alternating headphone effect at the beginning is cool, so is the confidence...the actual singing on the other hand...

35. Nihao⭐China [China]: Listen, all of China’s character songs are great, I just can’t vibe with this one like some of the others.

34.  Pechka ~Light My Heart~ [Russia]: I’m still having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that this and Winter were released at the same time.

33.  Pukapuka⭐Vacation [Germany, Italy, Japan]: Seems just a bit too much like they’re running on a treadmill that’s picking up speed and trying to sing at the same time. Peppy.

32.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town [Germany, Italy, Japan]: This is unironically the best song sung by this trio; can only vibe with for two months out of the year though.

31.  Excuse Me, I Am Sorry [Japan]: Japan’s character traits speedrun. Gives me barbershop quartet vibes for some reason but is catchy as hell.

30.  The Story of Snow and Dreams [Russia]: A superhero anime opening in the making

29. England’s Evil Demon Summoning Song [England]: Sir that is not how you roast a marshmallow, don’t cut yourself on that edge.

28.  Moi Moi Sauna♪ [Finland]: Exactly the type of song you’d expect and it’s wonderful

27.  United Nations Star⭐ [America, China, England, France, Russia]: This isn’t as much of a song as it is a four minute struggle for everyone to sing without America yelling every 5 seconds...Like a particularly musical episode of Hetalia.

26.  Paris is Indeed Splendid [France]: Paris-pa-pa-pa-paris

25.  Absolutely Invincible British Gentleman [England]: Poppy, rocky, polka-dotty

24.  Vorwärts Marsch! [Germany]: To quote the comment section: “This sounds like a German version of I’ll Make a Man out of you.” There’s some truth to that.

23.  Hamburger Street [America]: The product of America’s rapper phase. 8/10 because he’s trying so hard and because I can unironically sing along to all of this.

22.  Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy [Hong Kong]: A song that would absolutely destroy the ankles of anyone in DDR.

21.  I Am German-Made [Germany]: There was once a version that had Germany and Prussia singing at the same time and it sounded positively demonic and Broadway could never

20.  La pasión no se detiene ~Unstoppable Passion~ [Spain]: Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping...

19.  Fall in Love, Mademoiselle [France]: Sounds like it should be in Mozart Opera Rock, I have kiss kiss falled in love.

18. Embrace the Très Bien Moi [France]: This is the definition of SELF LOVE PEOPLE. 

17. Carrot and Stick [Belarus&Ukraine]: Absolutely DRIPPING in 2000s power ballad energy. The type of song that plays on repeat in the mind of the widow whose millionaire husband ‘mysteriously disappeared’ (and the only legit character song ever acknowledged by the anime)

16. C.B.C (Cowboyz Boot Camp) Vol. 1 [America]: AH MAH GAWWDDD

15. Winter [Russia]: Heavy metal fever dream and the perfect song for an angst-ridden teenager

14.  Seychelles Here ⭐ Vacation Island [Seychelles]: UN👏DER👏RA👏TED SONG👏OF 👏THE 👏SUM👏MER👏

13.  Nah, it will settle itself somehow [Romano]: One day I aspire to reach this level of chill

12.  Let’s Enjoy Today [England]: I will never not feel happy when listening to this.

11.  Einsamkeit [Germany]: Ludwig manages to air every single one of his worries about not being good enough compared to his friends and always being perceived as mean or uptight when he’s actually just a softie and now my heart hurts. 💔

10.  Aiyaa Four Thousand Years [China]: A very poignant and beautiful song about the passage of time and the inevitability of its passing; comparable to an ancient ballad complete with explosive crescendos and meaningful lyrics.

9.  Bon Bon Bon❤️C’est Bon C’est Bon! [France]: Peppy, cheerful, adorable, groundbreaking; has been my alarm tone for six years and I’ve yet to tire of it. 9/10 The moaning interspersed throughout has been an interesting wake-up call.

8.  Let’s Enjoy! Let’s Get Excited! Cheers! [Denmark]: This is on par with Everytime we Touch by Cascada in terms of rage potential unlocked (the good kind)

7.  Dream Journey [Japan]: Whoever’s playing the shakuhachi is absolutely KILLING IT. Dramatic, wonderful, great metaphors.

6.  Gourmet’s Heart Beginner Level [China]: Absolute banger, I’m a vegetarian but this would inspire me to eat shumai.

5.  Always with you...Nordic Five! [Nordic FIVVVVVEEEE]: Everyone harmonizes beautifully except for Denmark. Extremely catchy, number placement seemed appropriate. 

4.  Pub and GO! [England]: I love this trash man

3. Maji Kandou⭐Hong Kong Night [Hong Kong]: If you thought Denmark’s song was a banger JUST YOU WAIT. I WILL BLOW OUT MY SPEAKERS LISTENING TO LO-HA-SU.

2. Steady Rhythmus [Germany]: THIS SONG IS METAL AF. Seriously, if it can be classified as ‘hardcore’ by my father and his group of 50-somethings who have decided to single-handedly gatekeep the metal and hardrock genres, it can do anything.

1.  The Delicious Tomato Song 🍅 [Romano]: Beautiful, absolutely awe-inspiring, poignant, catchy lyrics with an extremely deep meaning that only years of meticulous research and analysis can unlock, Romano I love you.

BONUS: Closing Songs

5. Hatafutte Parade (World Series) 

4. Hetalian⭐Jet (The World Twinkle): The song is good, the dancing is cursed 

3. Chikyuu Marugoto Hug Shitainda (World⭐Stars)

2. Marukaite Chikyuu (Hetalia: Axis Powers): nE NE PaPA

1. Mawaru Chikyuu Rondo (The Beautiful World)

[shinidamachu]

CHAPTER ONE: Good Luck

SUMMARY: “and I'd choose you. In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you.” – Kiersten White. For each chapter, a prompt from the One Hundred Ways to Say I Love You list.

WORDS: 1.652

GENRE: romance, angst, fluff, NSFW

FANDOM: Inukag

FORMAT: multichapter

ALSO FOUND ON: AO3, FF.Net

Inuyasha instinctively knew, from the very moment they met, this was what the rest of his existence was gonna be like: always chasing after her.

Of course, he had never expected to live the literal version of that knowledge.

Yet there he was, running across the airport like a crazy person, ignoring the curses and nasty looks he received from the people unlucky enough to stand between him and his goal as he bumped and forced his way through.

Inuyasha couldn’t care less.

Because Kagome was leaving.

He had been a coward and now she was leaving.

It wasn’t for good. Exchange programs were temporary, a fact he had to keep reminding himself of time and time again to keep what was left of his sanity. As much as she was off to the other side of the planet, here was where she belonged, where her life was. Here, with her family, friends, favorite coffee shop and him.

But what if something changed her plans? Kagome could get a permanent job. Smart, young, bilingual. Anyone would be thrilled to hire her.

What if someone changed her plans? This was what hurt the most, imagining her in the arms of a man who wasn’t afraid to tell her how he felt.

Inuyasha needed to tell her how he felt.

It was this urgency that drove him there, even though Kagome told everyone not to come. Even though he had spent years convincing himself that their friendship was too important to risk it. Even though his feelings were probably unrequited.

He couldn’t keep it in. Not anymore.

And maybe he was late. Maybe he missed his shot. But didn’t Kagome deserve to know that he didn’t have a favorite color until he saw the way the sun hit her eyes? That he was just as bad at algebra in High School as she was and he had to ask his mother to teach him the lessons in advance, so he could tutor her the following day? That for years now, every love song he listened to seemed to be written about her?

Worst case scenario, Kagome would let him down easy and they could still be friends. No heart broken but his own. And after the Hojo fiasco and that one agonizingly long summer she spent dating Koga, Inuyasha was no stranger to heartbreak. He could handle heartbreak. Never knowing what it could have been if he had taken a chance, on the other hand…

Which brought him to the best case scenario, something he only allowed himself to think about late in the night: Kagome somehow wanting to be his. Finally tasting her lips. Touching her. Really touching her. And making clear, in no uncertain terms, that he was hers as well.

That’s when Inuyasha saw her in the crowd. Smaller than average, Kagome was far from being a difficult target to spot. Her lustrous dark hair was half up, half down, a red ribbon tying it all together. It fell onto that oversized, deep blue sweater that he liked and it was a bit shorter than usual, courtesy of a brand new haircut. He distinctly remembered the selfie she sent him to show it off. It was still on his phone.

“Kagome!”

Nothing. She kept walking forward, one hand dragging her suitcase, the other holding her phone. He increased the pace, the sight of her back providing renewed disposition, every step bringing him closer.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha tried again. And she turned. Her doe eyes wandered around, searching for the source of his voice as if she had imagined it.

Then she found him.

Kagome froze in place and Inuyasha took advantage of her bewilderment to reduce his frenetic rhythm to a moderate march, his gaze locked on hers. She blinked her stupor away and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Before he could register, Kagome was moving — no, racing — to him. She collided against his body so violently it could have knocked him over, had he been in his human form. It was endearing, how tight she clung to him, the way her head fitted under his chin so well. Closing his eyes, Inuyasha inhaled the aroma he had been tracking, happy to have it filling his lungs. His arm surrounded her waist with the familiarity of coming home. Absentmindedly. Almost intuitively.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, breaking free from his embrace to properly see him.

By all means, he shouldn’t be. A Bon Voyage party had been held for her the previous night and Kagome used the occasion to rip the band-aid off. It was better, she had reasoned, to say her goodbyes all at once. That way, she could bid farewell to everyone and go alone to the airport. Having them scorting her there would make leaving a thousand times harder.

Realizing his hand still rested on her waistline, he quickly retreated it to scratch a nonexistent itch on his nape.

“I’ve somethin’ to tell ya.” He blurted out, noticing how her heart skipped a beat. “I should’ve done it at your party yesterday but there were so many people, I couldn’t get ya alone. And you know I ain’t good with words—”

“It’s fine, really. You can tell me, whatever it is.”

“Well… I, uh…”

“Yes?” She encouraged.

“I just gotta tell you…”

“Yes?”

Inuyasha’s mouth went dry.

He had the speech on the tip of his tongue, rehearsed the damn thing over and over in his mind for longer than he cared to admit. But now that it was real and she was staring at him so expectantly, now that — slim as it was — there was an actual possibility of making what he wished for the most come true… Inuyasha realized how unbelievably selfish and completely insane he was acting.

Even if by some miracle Kagome loved him back, she was still leaving.

Leaving.

What was he thinking? What the hell was he thinking? That he would show up, pour his feelings out, kiss her passionately and then give a long distance relationship a go? They would still be apart. It wouldn’t be fair to her. It wouldn’t be fair to himself. This wasn’t what he wanted. Not by a long shot.

He wanted her to stay.

Which was infinitely worse. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. To grow, to have new experiences, to learn, to live without a hometown boyfriend holding her back. He could never do that to Kagome, he could never be the one standing between her and a bright future. It would kill him if she decided to stay, only to resent him for it later.

And so those three words became two.

“Good luck.”

“Oh.” Kagome said, something he couldn’t quite distinguish crossing her features for the briefest of seconds before she composed them into a soft expression. “Inuyasha!” She breathed out, her head tilting slightly.

In a swift move, Kagome was in his arms again and Inuyasha didn’t shy away from hugging her just as tight, painfully aware it could be their last. For a while, anyway.

And she smelled so good. 

Inuyasha hoped the scent would linger. If not on his shirt, then at least in his memory.

Her silent cry was wetting his shirt and, helpless to stop himself, he placed a kiss on the top of Kagome’s head.

“I can’t believe you came all the way here just to ruin my mascara.” She kind of sobbed, kind of laughed while letting go of him to wipe her cheeks clean of tears.

Not the part of her makeup Inuyasha intended to ruin, but he would take it.

Despite everything, a weak smile shaped his lips.

“Keh. Then stop crying, woman.”

Whatever she was gonna reply died in her throat when a woman’s voice announced the next flight. 

“That’s me. I, huh, I should get going.”

“You call me when you land, alright? I don’t give a shit what time it is.”

“You got it. And you, stay out of trouble.” Standing on her tiptoes, Kagome gave him a peck on the cheek and judging by the way he felt it burn, Inuyasha had no doubt he was blushing an embarrassing amount. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“You better.” Joked Kagome, reaching for her suitcase’s handle. “So… I guess this is it. Bye.”

“Bye.”

He watched her walk away, praying she would look at him one more time and torturing himself with each ‘what if’.

It was all his fault. 

Inuyasha should have been bolder, fought harder. Should have told her the truth sooner. He only saw her every single day for years.

Now it was too late.

Kagome turned around right in front of the gates, her eyes finding his like they were magnets. She waved him goodbye, a faltering smile on her face.

Inuyasha attempted to return the gesture, but it lacked energy.

And then she left, completely out of sight.

He missed her already.

It was for the best, though. He would beat himself up for wasting the cards he had been dealt, probably for the rest of his life. And yet, he could never bring himself to regret letting her go, if it meant she would be happy.

Inuyasha stayed until her plane took off.

What would his days be like with her gone? Picturing it was too painful. Overwhelming. Perhaps he should focus on getting his degree. Finally. Or sinking further into work. 

Move on. 

That would do the trick. 

But even in the light of how definitive their departure appeared to be or how devastated he was, the strangest feeling nestled in the depths of his heart: that this was not the end. That someway, somehow, their paths would meet again.

Inuyasha held on to that as if it was a life jacket.

Too bad he was still adrift.

A/N.: so... it’s been a hot minute, yes? I must confess, I haven’t had time to work on my writing in a while and, the few times I did, I just didn’t find the motivation to share online. Which I’m sure you can understand, given how all over the place this fandom have been. So... this is me trying. Don’t mind me. 

Anywho... this fanfic was inspired by the list linked above. It’s gonna have a hundred chapters, as you probably guessed. Each chapter will be based in one of the hundred prompts of said list. They’ll vary in length and genre and there’s no obligatory connection between them, so beware.

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

Unreleased songs - ɟ

Hi, babies 👋🏼. Long time no see 😂 As I said I would, ta-daah!

So, honeys, today’s topic is about unreleased songs as the title of the post suggests, but that’s not what you think. Let me explain. For years I’ve been investigating the world of celebrities, the world of Hollywood, and the more time passes, the more things I’m able to discover, even if ‘slowly’ because I work. As I mentioned in the ‘Award shows’ post, thanks to the time I still have for a while because I’m on vacation for a few more days, I finally had time to find out some information about ‘who?’, ‘how?’, and ‘why?’ we’re getting blessed with so many unreleased songs. I haven’t found an answer to everything yet, but I’m working on it. For now, I’ll tell you what I know and my theories. If any of you know anything more, please, PLEASE DM me: @fa-by.

Let’s go in order. ‘Who?’:

I think that like me, many of you have always wondered ‘Who’s leaking all these songs? Is it a hacker? Is it the artist’s management? Is it the artist themself?’. The answer to these questions is unfortunately still only what I think. For me, it’s the artist’s label. Labels are usually the ones that own the master recording copyrights. [If you want to know more about the subject, I wrote a post about it: ‘How the music world works’. If you’re interested, Mari did this very cool thing for me. All you have to do is click on the #f anon on her blog to see all my posts (I know I sounded like a grandma, but I said it’s cool because I didn’t know it could be done. I’m pretty good with tech in general, but I’m still pretty new to the Tumblr world, okay? Don’t make fun of me 🤓🤣)]

As I also explained in that post, a recording agreement states that the label becomes the owner of all the master recordings recorded by the artist during the period of the agreement. And yes, this also includes unreleased recordings. And that’s why I’m very convinced that it’s the label. Labels are at the tip of the pyramid, and they are the ones who make every decision about their artists. Managements, agents, publicists, etc., only execute directives. So I think they’re the ones leaking those songs through their own IT departments.

It also depends on the cases and why, but sometimes instead, they even paid someone outside, hackers or ordinary people, to do it. The same methods they used to ‘hack’ and spread even false personal data and information about their artists. The reasons vary of course. They may have leaked a song because their artist hadn’t released something in a while and to keep fans engaged. They may have done it to see the fans’ response to that genre of song and if they’ve vibed with it to be able to choose the kind of direction for their artist to take for the new album and next single. They may have done so with a song they knew they were going to officially release just to get more attention on the song itself (example: ‘Love Incredible’ and ‘First Man’). They may have done it simply for publicity and to get people talking about their artist. Really, they may have done so for all sorts of reasons.

This, however, happened mostly in the past. Now, based on what I’ve discovered, I’ve realized that there’s also another reason why they do it. And this reason, leads us to the next question: ‘How?’

I’ve already anticipated how they did in the past and sometimes still do. By using their IT departments or by paying someone outside to do it for them. But I haven’t yet explained how they do it now, which leads to my discovery.

*Little story for you first*🙃 (#donthateme)

I was simply scrolling to see what new music was released and if there was any interesting news. The typical “I was minding my own business when”, you know? Well, that’s how I came across ‘Party Animal’.

I can literally picture you saying to me: “But, Faby, Party Animal is an old song!”. Yes, it is. Party Animal is a 2017 song sung by Charly Black & Luis Fonsi. But did you know that a remix with Camila on it should have been released and that it got scrapped?? 🤯🤯🤯🤯 That’s what I came across! In the snippet to be more precise. I knew the remix existed [I also talked about it in one of my last posts to reply to an Anon], but I’d never listened to its snippet, so imagine my surprise when I found it in front of me out of nowhere! And they even created a mashup between her snippet and the original song to see how the remix would’ve turned out to be. I’m gonna put a piece of the mashup with Camila’s snippet at the end of the post for you to listen to.

Party Animal brought me to the snippets of ‘It’s Only Natural’ ft. Skrillex, the original demo of ‘Sangria Wine’ which together with Pharrell, was initially also supposed to have J Balvin and Young Thug on it, ‘Pretending’ by Lauren, and many others that I didn’t yet know existed, including those I knew about and that I listened to again, like for example the first version of ‘Havana’, that is the first real original demo with Starrah, or ‘Who Can I Run To’ by 5H, or ‘If It Ain’t Me’ by Dua Lipa ft. Normani (leaked unreleased song, recorded for Dua’s Future Nostalgia album), etc., etc.

What happened then? Thanks to those snippets and to the re-listening of all the ones I already knew, I resumed investigating as I’d already started doing this summer, and I finally discovered this:

*end of the little story*

There are sites. Hackers sites that sell these songs. Yes, you read that correctly. SELL. These sites sell unreleased and exclusive music from any artist. From top A singers to less famous and unknown singers. Anyone can register and anyone can buy the songs. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, if you’re lucky enough to have A LOT of money to throw around, then those sites are for you. These sites are not cheap. Some of them charge you money even when you just register.

Do you want examples to better understand? Okay, let’s talk about our Camren.

Remember when I submitted the post with Lauren’s ‘Inside’ studio version on December 17th? Remember how many of you felt guilty to listen to it even though you were happy to do it and even though I told you that Lauren herself said it wouldn’t be on the album? Well, do you wanna know the real reason we got this leaked? Because a Camila fan BOUGHT it from one of those websites and released it as a ‘Christmas gift’ for all of us!

Do you know how on July 21 we had ‘Curious’, ‘Cleopatra’, and ‘Unforgettable’? How on August 22 we had ‘Just Like You’ ft. Jack Ü? How on September 3 we had ‘Come When I Call’ ft. Pharrell Williams, ‘Taxi’, and ‘Eyes on You’? And how the next day, the 4th, we had ‘Terrified’? The only reason we’ve been blessed with all of these unreleased songs by Camila, is because people BOUGHT them from those sites exactly as it happened with Inside!

We’re about to be fed with a lot more, guys. You see, this is another thing I discovered. These websites [I only know of four at the moment, and honestly? It was pretty easy to find them, so it won’t be a problem for you either. But please, please, please guys, don’t ask me to tell you the sites here publicly because I won’t. I don’t want any problems.], these hackers, sometimes release snippets for free to spark buyer interest. These snippets then end up on the internet, and that’s how we ‘mere mortals’ also learn about the existence and titles of songs discarded from albums. But most of the time, even the snippets have to be bought because they’re about highly desired songs. This happens because, for example, maybe an artist has mentioned them in an interview and therefore fans want them.

I’ll give you a practical example. Remember when Camila talked about The Boy? We obviously all freaked out because not only was it a song written by Ed Sheeran that she rewrote almost completely, but mostly because we WANTED and WANT to hear it. Same thing that happened with God Is a Woman. So what did the hackers do? They put the snippets up for sale because they were both very requested songs. Once the snippets were sold and spread well, they put the songs up for sale in full. And do you wanna know how much The Boy is on sale? $3,000 on one unreleased selling site, and $3,500 on another one [Prices I read from the comments of some accounts that are registered on those sites]. I wasn’t kidding when I said they aren’t cheap… Although there are songs that cost less, such as ‘Thinkin Bout One’ (song discarded from the album ‘Camila’) which is currently on sale for $300. Still waaay too much and pretty over the top for my ass.

If you happen to see snippets of Camren’s unreleased songs or 5H’s around, it’s only thanks and because these websites are selling them. Unfortunately, there’s no possibility of having them in full unless someone pays for them first.

And all this leads us to the last question: ‘Why?’

Why? Very simple answer: for money. As I said I explained in my ‘How the music world works’ post [and I’m truly sorry to bring this up again, but it really makes sense with what I’m saying and if you don’t understand what I’m talking about now, then I suggest you go read that first and then come back here], labels buy some songs for the album from authors and ghostwriters, and invest on the artist by giving them an advance to make that album. This advance is mainly reserved to pay for the recording of the album, and this means paying for the recording costs, which includes the payment of A LOT of other things that I explained there. What interests us in this case, is that the recording costs also include all those songs that were later discarded from an album.

The labels paid to have the artist do those songs, and since they weren’t released, they didn’t make any money off those songs. Neither the labels nor the artists who recorded them. Or rather, the labels have certainly regained the money invested to make them thanks to the recoupment of the recording costs. Either immediately, or in any case later thanks to cross-collateralization. But the artist? They just lost money, and they both earned no royalties or licenses precisely because those songs were never released.

So what did they come up with to make money on those songs too? They put them up for sale. Theory’s time: In my opinion, labels use hackers because they know how not to be tracked. Think about it.

I’ll give you an example. If you were to create a site, would you know how to protect it? Would you know what data is coming in and out of your website? Would you know which functions are constantly running and which are not? Would you know which programs transmit data externally and which ones don’t? Would you know which programs are suspicious? Would you know to create alternative algorithms, security plugins, and serious firewalls that prevent unauthorized access? I could go on all day, but if your answer is no, then I guess you get my point.

They use external hackers. People outside their IT departments in such a way as not to create any kind of connection between them. They use them as they would use publishers, distributors, and collection agencies with an officially released song all at once. It’s a give-and-take. The hackers take the necessary security measures and create the sites, the labels pass the unreleased songs to them, and the hackers put them up for sale. Once sold, the hackers get their share and the labels get the biggest percentage. It’s actually brilliant if you think about it.

Now let’s move on to the last small part of this post.

Do the artists know that their unreleased songs are for sale? I think they really do. And I’ll tell you more. I think they have deals with their own label to get their share of sales as well. I believe that they’re also themselves (with label approval of course) who choose which one to put up for sale and which one to keep to use in the future, whether it’s for an album or simply to take and use part of the lyrics from that song for a new one.

And then, think about it for a moment. Do you really believe that if someone else had ‘stolen’ them and put them up for sale, the labels wouldn’t have noticed? That they wouldn’t immediately have shut down their sites and take action since it’s not a single song? And I’m also talking about legal measures that they would have taken together with the authors of those songs since they, the labels, are the owners of the master recording copyrights, and the authors are the owners of the composition copyrights. Come on, my friends. Do you have any idea how powerful major labels are? But anyway.

Do I think we have a problem? Do I think all of this could lead to problems for the girls for their future sales? Nope. I honestly think this is just more publicity for them. I think thanks to these songs, people/fans can even more and really see how talented they are, especially in lyrics. Lauren for example, who still hasn’t graced us with her album. These songs are like appetizers while waiting for the main course: LJ1.

And now I’m really done 😄 I remind you that all these unreleased songs for sale are scraps of their albums, scraps of remixes and collaborations, and scraps in general, so they’re not really harming them by selling them. Don’t let yourself get unnecessary heart attacks, please🤣

If you have any questions, as usual, all you have to do is ask. I send you lots of love with virtual hugs 🤗 Stay safe. Stay patient. Be kind to yourself and others. I love you, babies. As usual, always with love, F ❤️

As promised, this is the mashup piece with Camila’s snippet:

Still here, hi 👋🏼😊 aaand super bonus for you just because I love you. I know this is gonna literally make you scream, jump, cry, and I mean, it will literally get you out of your minds exactly as it did to me. I present to you a demo of No Way (my second favorite 5H song) ONLY SUNG BY CAMREN!!!!!! It’s only 42 seconds, and the only difference is actually Camila who sings also Normani’s part before hers, but JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, it’s heavenly 😻😍 Thank me later and for now, just enjoy, my children, just enjoy:

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

___

Party Animal

I have the post the audio apart from this so you can hear it too

[glassprism]

Hi GP! Hope you are well? Non poto question for you if you have time to answer. What are your favourite cast albums of non-english shows like Elisabeth (or any other non-english shows you are into) There are so many different versions and I don't know where to start. PS merry christmas if you celebrate/happy holidays

I think Elisabeth is the only non-English show I'm into, ha - though if I'm into others and I've just completely forgotten, someone let me know. I'm not sure I remember enough of Elisabeth at this point...

Anyway, although I have a bunch of Elisabeth cast recordings, the funny thing is I've listened to almost none of them. Elisabeth is that blessed show that has a ton of videos recordings, many of them proshot, so I've never seen a need to listen to a cast recording (which is just audio and often a limited selection of songs) when I can just pop in a professionally filmed video, often of the same cast.

So I'm just going to focus on recommended proshot videos. Many of these are pretty easily available, but if you absolutely want to listen to a cast recording instead or just can't find these, then you can take this as a recommendation of a cast recording too.

August 29, 1992; original Vienna - A proshot of a dress rehearsal of the original cast and production. Definitely the show in a raw, unfinished form, but the quality of the cast and the overall darkness and moodiness of the show (later iterations make it a little more light-hearted and romantic) make this highly recommended. Equates to the 1992 original cast recording.

January 13, 2002; Essen - An audience recording of Pia Douwes's last show in Essen, albeit one shot on a tripod, so it's pretty steady. Essen is worth watching because this is where many of new scenes and songs (many introduced in the previous Dutch production) become firmly established, though the show would continue to be changed and altered after this, so it's very interesting to track the differences between this, the original Vienna, and the Vienna revival to come. Douwes's last means this is a very high-energy performance. Equates to the 2001 Essen cast recording, though not all the cast is the same.

2005; Vienna revival - This is a professionally shot video of the Vienna revival cast released on DVD, and for a while, a favorite for fans to make English subtitles for. For a lot of people this was also one of the first introductions to the show and remains something of a touchstone for them. The cast can be a little polarizing (apart from Serkan Kaya as Lucheni), but the filming quality is top-notch, and as far as the show's evolution, it's interesting to view this as a mix between the original Vienna and the Essen production. Equates to... I think the 2006 Vienna revival cast recording.

2012; Seoul - There's several proshots of the Korean production, this is the one that should be of the full show and a single camera on a tripod, not a monitor video. I'm not sure how easy it is to get, but I recommend it because I like the Korean production, it has a great cast, and it's an interesting mix of the Vienna, Essen, and Japanese productions with some of its own ideas thrown into the mix. Equates to the 2012 Korean cast recording, of which there are apparently three versions, but I think any of them will do.

2014; Takarazuka production - I can't say that I really like the Takarazuka productions (too romanticized and sanitized), but they have a buttload of beautifully filmed DVDs of their show and lots of pretty actors, so... yeah. Worth it to see how differently this show can be staged, I guess? I have no big reason for recommending the 2014 version over the others, other than by this time, the production had incorporated many of the later additions to the show, my version had fan-subs in English, and, uh, I guess I find Ranno Hana very pretty? This one equates to the 2014 Flower Troupe cast recording.

2016; Toho production - I think this was the first production of the Toho staging released on DVD? It comes in two versions, Black and White, and I think both are good, though I've watched the one with Yu Shirota a bit more. Toho is cool, with a lot of aesthetic similarities to the Takarazuka version but hewing much closer to the mood and plot of the German versions. Equates to the 2015 Japanese 15th anniversary cast recording, I believe.

And if I left any off, it's because I haven't watched it enough to have an opinion (Dutch, Hungary), I just don't like (any Stage Entertainment versions), or I found it... weird (Thun).

[yoongsisbae]

Sorry I am taking so long to post a story, I am trying not to die alone over here AKA manifest my own happy ending 😭

But I hate myself for not posting, so here are a ton of sneak peaks AKA my way of saying sorry because I feel bad...

---

“What do you think about when you look at me? Do you see her?”

Yoongi thinks about it. You deserve the truth, not false words of comfort.

“I see her in you. There are things you do, err the way you move sometimes.” He hesitates. “It brings up familiar memories. I’m not going to say those feelings don’t influence me now, because they do…remembering us together. But also, you’re not that similar to her at all, and I like this version of you more. You’re not as cold or distant,” he smiles. “You could have slammed the door in my face,” he adds, “‘She’ probably would have…I like you.”

---

Taehyung knew Yoongi would fold, he just knew it! That egotistical prick thinks he has the site's top streamer wrapped around his finger, it makes him too indifferent about you. Does Yoongi even know anything about you?

Taehyung knows you, he listens to your grievances when you talk about your friends and family, he's compiled a list of descriptions every time you mention someone, getting closer and closer to seeing the full picture of your life, what goes past the boxed-in screen your pretty body fits into. Taehyung sees past your act, he studies the way you pause and look to the side right before you tell a little white lie, he knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep, tracking the times you're most active on the site.

Does Yoongi know the songs you like to hum to fill the awkward silence? Your favorite drinks, the ones you reach for when your throat is dry? Taehyung can even tell when your orgasms are fake, rewatching your streams for hours, edging his body to your soft moans. Taehyung might not be your number one donator, but he's getting there, and he wouldn't treat your precious attention so carelessly like Yoongi, never! Which makes tonight so important.

---

“Does Tae know?”

You roll your eyes. “What is he, my keeper?” You grab another stack of bills, fanning out the money with your fingers.

The papers on the table scatter from a controlled gust of wind; a miniscule push of power by Hoseok. “You’re taking more than your share,” Hoseok warns.

You pout. “I have to buy Christmas presents! C’mon, you and I both know we’re the ones doing most of the work, just think of it as a holiday bonus!” You look at him hopeful.

Hoseok goes back to threading beads, shaking his head. “Don’t let the others hear you talk like that. We all contribute equally here, y/n.”

You pull your bag over your shoulder, belligerent, keeping the extra cash. “Yeah…” You agree, leaning over his chair, draping your arms over Hoseok’s shoulders, chin in the crook of his neck, studying his new art project. “But we’re the most powerful and you know it, Weather Man. Plus, I deserve compensation for being partnered with Jin last night.”

---

You crawl under the car, trying your best to get away from him, kicking at his attempts to grab you.

He pulls you harshly across the concrete, but he releases you when a zombie ambles too close, occupying him for now. You jump up, opening the driver's door. The man who sits inside was knocked unconscious by the impact, so you throw him out. When he lands on the ground in a hard thud you feel for him, but you also feel definitely not sorry. The men in the back are disoriented. The car still has power, so you put the window lock on and proceed to hold down every window button, determined not to make this easy for any of them. The windows slowly edge down, disappearing from view.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

You yell back in English, “SORRY, I DON’T UNDERSTAND. LOWER?”

---

Finally, finally, you make it to your Mother’s house.

It’s within sight, but you stay back. You know you were headed straight to the place where everyone would predict you’d go, but you just wanted to see for yourself. You needed to see their faces at least one last time.

Hiding in the shadows across the street, you take note of the extra vehicles in the driveway, the quiet stillness down the road and how no one else is outside. When you move closer to see the view through your Mother’s kitchen window, you hold your breath at the sight. You had expected to see guards from your school, maybe even your own father, but you didn’t expect Namjoon to be with them, speaking to both your parents. Your vision blurs with unshed tears, not wanting to accept this kind of betrayal. What is he doing with your father? Your father must have forced him. But why? What is going on?

---

Let me know if you want any other sneak peeks on stories you like! 💗

[wizardgame100]

3, 5, 12 for the ask game!!

Music asks, personalized list || Accepting

3. Favorite Band / Artist

A lot of the music I listen to is just so everywhere. It's all over the place honestly. My only rule is that the voice has to be distinct. I mean this by like. They don't sound like just some rando pop singer, you KNOW their weirdass voice right off the bat.

And because of that, my favorite would have to be Will Wood and the Tapeworms!

His voice is just so distinct that I can identify him right away. I love the chaos in his songs and how his voice literally ranges s o wide and how it flips within seconds!! It's honestly incredible, I wish my singing voice was like his. I also love darker songs, especially ones with an upbeat tune.

I'll put some favorites under the cut. <3

5. Latest Song That Made You Smile

Easy, "The Chordettes - Lollipop (Symetry Remix)". My girlfriend and I have been listening to various playlists and we found one that's like for FNAF Sundrop and this is the first song on there. She now plays it on repeat lmfao. I'll link it under the cut too!

12. Saddest Song You Know

O o f. Well. I could go for the easiest being "Cancer" but specificially the Twenty One Pilots version. It reminds me of my grandfather who passed away last year. The original version (My Chemical Romance) is super good too but the gentleness of the top version just makes it extra sad imo. Makes for a good cry if you have any context to it personally speaking.

Another sad song, tho much more upbeat just a smidge, is "His Favorite Christmas Story - Captial Lights" which, yes, is a Christmas song, but can be played anytime. It's about a guy who fell in love with a girl at a Christmas party but had to leave before she got her name, so where ever he goes he tells the story of this beautiful girl he never got to see again. It's so good and the ending just a a g h h.

All songs will be linked under the cut. Thank you for the ask, Nonnie!!

Here's the songs!! Let me know if you like 'em!!!

Important: Will Wood songs deal with various dark subjects, tho written in satire.

Suburbia Overture / Greetings from Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally - Will Wood

(Yes that's all one song)

Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In! - Will Wood

Lollipop (Symetry Remix)

Cancer - Twenty One Pilots (Cover)

Cancer - My Chemical Romance (Original)

His Favorite Christmas Story

[celtfather]

Gaelynn Lea #63

A Holiday collection of Christmas music to tug at your heartstrings with Gaelynn Lea today as we spread Christmas Cheer.

It's Celtic Christmas Podcast #63. Subscribe at CelticChristmasPodcast.com.

  WELCOME TO THE CELTIC CHRISTMAS PODCAST AND PLAYLIST

I am Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic musician and I love Christmas music.

This podcast is funded by people just like you on Patreon. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion, and production of the podcast and our companion playlist. You’ll find a link to both in the shownotes.

Sign up for as little as $1 per episode on Patreon to spread Christmas Cheer today in 2022. Because this is the last episode of the year.

But if you subscribe to the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, then you will also enjoy another episode of Celtic Christmas music coming this week.

FEATURED PLAYLIST: Celtic Christmas 2021

My final Celtic Christmas Playlist of the year is now completed. It features over 30 artists with amazing music to celebrate the holiday, from the slow and peaceful to the upbeat and rollicking. You can enjoy over two hours of Christmas music on this playlist.

And of course, if you’re a patron, you can download a podcast version of the show on Patreon.

Listen to Celtic Christmas 2021 now on Spotify.

“Angels We Have Heard on High (feat. Al Church)” by Gaelynn Lea from Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn

That was from today’s special holiday guest. She is on the latest Celtic Christmas Playlist.

HOLIDAY FEATURE: Gaelynn Lea

Traditional fiddle music tugs at the heartstrings, and it infuses feeling into what is otherwise notes on a page. There’s something transformative about it. Not only has Gaeylnn Lea mastered her craft, but her experimental use of this time-honored instrument adds yet another dimension to the sound. Melodies are stretched and harmonies are crafted by her use of live looping, paired with obvious classical training. It’s updated, and ultimately, very satisfying. Cellist Zoe Keating springs to mind as one listens to Lea’s use of her chosen instrument. It’s no wonder she has drawn attention for her music—she has really been carving out her own niche in the industry.

Gaelynn has been playing the violin for over two decades, and there’s little doubt she’s comfortable with bow in hand. It really does take a person mastering an instrument before experimentation can be successful. The challenge is to depart from the norm and create something unique—all while expanding on previous training. The skill is still in there--but the music grows larger and more full. This is what Gaelynn does, and it’s a pleasure to hear the thread of the familiar woven in with the freshness of something new at the hands of an experienced artist.

The musician has been recognized for her work—being chosen as the winner of NPR Music’s 2016 Tiny Desk Contest, recognized as a benchmark in the world of music. This competition brings in thousands of submissions, and to win is quite the accomplishment!

Those who are looking for a forward-looking holiday collection of music will want to investigate Lea’s album, "Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn". The tracks that are included here boast many of the well-known popular carol names, such as Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night, Away in a Manger, and O Come, O Come Emmanuel--but you haven’t ever heard them played like this before.

The 14-track album is an easy fit for anyone who is a true strings aficionado, and it would round out any collection of holiday music. Perfect for everything from a romantic candlelight dinner with your love, or at a family gathering, “Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn” is a delight to listen to. Experience the joy of hearing Christmas favorites that are coaxed into a new form through the hands of a talented musician.

You can find out more about Gaelynn Lea at https://violinscratches.com/

“Silent Night” by Gaelynn Lea from Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn

IF YOU ENJOY THIS ARTIST...

Follow them on streaming and add one of their songs to your playlist. You can also buy music from them, sign up to their mailing list and share this episode on social media. Use the hashtag #celticchristmaspodcast

The Celtic Christmas Podcast is free to enjoy. However, it is supported by the Christmas Cheer and generosity of people like you over on Patreon.

Celtic Christmas Podcast was produced and edited by Marc Gunn. Graphics were by Miranda Nelson Designs. Subscribe through your favorite podcatcher or on our website where you can become a Christmas Patron for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through Christmas music at CelticChristmasPodcast.com. Nollaig Shona Daoibh!

#celticchristmas #celticchristmasmusic #gaelynnlea

  Check out this episode!