#i have most experience with the saxophone and least with the bass!

[majorshatterandhare]

[Answer options in order are:

1. Yes, guitar, mandolin

2. Yes, piano/keyboard

3. Yes, violin, viola, cello, bass (inc. electric bass)

4. Yes, percussion

5. Yes, a woodwind

6. Yes, a brass instrument

7. Yes, multiple

8. Yes, something not mentioned here

9. No, I do not currently play an instrument but I sing

10. No, I do not currently play an instrument and I do not sing.

End Options]

Please specify in the comments or tags!

I’m sorry there aren’t more options, I only had 10 spaces or I would’ve included more. I tried to go with the most common and obviously with groups!

What counts for singing is up to you. I think most people sing some amount, but you can decide if yours counts or not. The reason for this is because you can teach yourself an instrument, so not requiring lessons or anything for either instruments or singing.

If you want to learn an instrument, especially if you don’t currently play any, I would love to know if you shared!

Please reblog! I wanna know how many of us play instuments ourselves and what that distribution is.

If you don’t listen to the Mechanisms don’t respond to this poll! I’m sure your answer is very interesting, but it will skew the results!

[fredseibertdotcom]

(Originally posted on LinkedIn December 13, 2022)

Side hustle? Actually, a hobby.

   My day job is producing cartoons, the longest of the "five lives" in my official biography. But the pandemic gave me a kind of freedom to revisit some of my past passions. In particular, my life in producing jazz recordings. No commuting to or from work, no breakfasts, lunches or drinks. At least four extra hours a day. Enough time to get into a little trouble. Some would say a side hustle, some would call it a hobby.  

   50 years ago, two friends of mine and I decided to start a record label –Oblivion Records– in the back of a hippie record store one of them owned. We suspended operations four years later, realizing our enthusiasm was no substitute for knowing how to run the business, and it wasn't until the digital music revolution of the 21st Century that I got our six records back into the marketplace where they've performed better than I could have imagined.  

   This year, I actively revived Oblivion with the digital drop of a two hour concert album I recorded in 1973. Composer and pianist Cecil Taylor (1929-2018) is one of the three major avant-garde, free jazz artists –along with John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman– who reinvented one of America's most vital and satisfying art forms. And word just came that the jazz bible DownBeat, will be the first to announce the album as one of the best historical releases of the year (UK's The Wire will follow, as will others*). On behalf of the concert musicians –Cecil Taylor, Andrew Cyrille: percussion, Jimmy Lyons: alto saxophone, Sirone: double bass– I'm honored.  

   Some –many?!– would ask "why?" Why release a 50 year old musical performance? Why release an album of an artists barely anyone has heard of? Why digital only, you make no money?  

   All good questions, I suppose, and my answers won't be entirely satisfying.  

   It's rare in one's life that you could be involved in history. At least, that's true for me. I've had some amazing, groundbreaking experiences in television, animation and streaming video; only time will tell how they fit into culture. But, time has already given a thumbs up judgement on Cecil and I was beyond lucky to have some tiny involvement in it. Over the past half century he went from being barely able to fill a small jazz club to a concert star of the highest caliber. He was a true artist who incorporated modern dance (yes, he also danced at many of his performances), fashion, and a completely unique approach to his instrument, his compositions and his band leading. He appeared across the globe to rapturous audiences –which, due to his steadfast vision, often included grumbling walk outs– and was in demand until he passed away in 2018. Remembrances and reassessments of his life's work followed from all over.  

   Cecil Taylor fit neatly into the Oblivion ethos. In the infinite wisdom of youth and the idealism of the early 1970s, Tom Pomposello, Dick Pennington and I thought the major companies were ignoring talented artists –including Tom– we thought we were worthy. Maybe we could show the world what they were missing. An ad in the back of a local Long Island music rag pointed us in the direction of a record pressing plant a few miles away, we bought a book that described how to design a cover, and edited a live recording of country blues legend Mississippi Fred McDowell to be our first release. More blues, traditional jazz and electronic (soon to be maligned as "fusion"), and Tom's American roots album followed in the next few years. We sold enough McDowells to keep it in print, borrowed money from ourselves and friends for the others, and even had a hit that basically put us down on the mat.  

   All along the way I recorded other jazz artists at my college radio station and one day I was asked if I could find some equipment to record Cecil's hometown "return" to New York City after years as Midwest university professor. You bet! It didn't matter that this was a no-pay gig. Honestly, I had to borrow the cash from my roommate/benefactor/recording assistant Nick Moy for the cab ride downtown, but the chance to work with a world class, world famous artist was more than A-OK for a 23 year old fan. Not for nothing, Cecil had a worldwide rep but this period was only the beginning of his actually becoming a global star.  

   So we're clear, Cecil's music was never for the faint of heart. An explosive, exacting style, once described by UK writer Val Wilmer as "eighty-eight tuned drums," his seeming random din was already shredding any semblance of "swing" that traditionalists were looking for in their jazz heroes. 

   Cecil released the second half of the concert, which fit neatly on two vinyl sides, on Unit Core, his own label (no other record company would have him at the time) as "Spring of Two Blue-J's." He had little interest in running a company, letting the album go out of print even after Gary Giddins of the Village Voice (one of its few reviewers) praised it as his favorite album of 1974. The first half of the recording sat neglected on my shelf for half a century. It was 90 minutes of sweet and sour cacophony that wouldn't fit neatly on the mediums of the time, and besides I lacked the proper equipment to even listen to it.  

   The digital age and the pandemic changed everything. Now, I could go to YouTube and  learn to use the recording studio built into my Apple computer in 10 minutes. The music could be mastered in the extra hours lock down had gifted me. And since streaming audio has no time limitations I could drop the release -the unreleased first set of the concert, and the original LP performances, more than two hours of music– in its entirety without any annoying fade outs along the way. (By the way, the nothing annoyed Cecil's aging fans and collectors more. Most of them hadn't bothered to figure out how to get their phones to play on their grand music systems.)  

   After I figured that stuff out –I was pretty nervous mixing my first music performances in decades– the rest fell into place pretty quickly. Tunecore, a streaming music distribution service, sent the files across the globe and Bandcamp allowed collectors to buy digital files.  

   Most importantly, my longtime creative colleague Alan Goodman agreed to write the digital liner notes (along with the music, they're available at the Oblivion Records website) and jazz promoter and publicist extraordinaire Lydia Liebman accepted the release for her agency.  

   Alan's extraordinary writing and Lydia's phenomenal efforts spread the story of the Cecil discovery worldwide. While the original LP was virtually ignored in its time, 50 years of global touring and the cultural expansion of an understanding public had its effect. The music was reviewed in dozens of publications around the world, not only in the music press, but in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and all sorts of general interest media. 

"An exhilarating set of Cecil Taylor's Jazz Arrives, 49 years later." Alan Scherstuhl, The New York Times  

"Filling in the Blanks of a Jazz Master's Career." Martin Johnson, The Wall Street Journal  

"The biggest bonus track ever!

"The 100th anniversary of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ has folks thinking about other thorny, dense, syntactically intricate classics, of 20th century modernism across all the arts.       "Cecil Taylor’s best work, his return concert included, belongs on that distinguished list.” Kevin Whitehead, NPR's Fresh Air  

   So back to the "why." Cecil Taylor was a important artist, if not a top-of-the-pops one. My partners and I wanted Oblivion to release artists who were significant, if not particularly popular. I had a chance to make my side hustle, my hobby, mean something. Is there anything more satisfying? Not to me. 

* PS: This just in. All About Jazz, The Quietus and Glide Magazine just named Cecil's "The Complete, Legendary..." in their best albums of 2022.  

[lovejustforaday]

2022 Year End List - #10

Electricity - Ibibio Sound Machine

Main Genres: Electro, Afro-Funk

A decent sampling of: New Wave, Synth Funk, Electro-Disco, Dance Punk, Electroclash, Indietronica

And this year’s obligatory entry for the “artist I knew about for several years, liked one or two of their songs but only just checked out a full-length project” award goes to Ibibio Sound Machine.

Ibibio Sound Machine are an electronic funk and dance music (EFDM?) septet from London, fronted by their boldly charismatic contralto vocalist Eno Williams. Williams herself is of Ibibio descent, and often sings in her peoples’ native tongue with a warm and commanding presence.

The band’s music takes influence from a myriad of West African sounds and rhythms, and combines them with electro, new wave, and a variety of other upbeat dancey/funky/electronic genres that are often at least partially indebted to the music of the 80s. In this way, the band’s sound and image can be described as both Afrofuturist and retrofuturist, which just so happen to be two styles of art that I absolutely adore.

On their latest LP Electricity, Ibibio Sound Machine takes us through a neon technicolour playground of electro meets afro-funk, with utopian ideals of what a dancefloor might sound like on another planet or a hundred years from now. Indeed, it feels like Ibibio Sound Machine are either space travelers, time travelers, or both, who brought their sounds from another place or time to grace us with this new record.

Opener “Protection From Evil” is a buzzing, funky, bass-y cyberpunk sci-fi wet dream, with an ominous and menacing tension that climaxes in a wondrously cacophonous breakdown of saxophones and keyboards, lighting up the night sky with sonic laser beams destroying all nearby passing spacecraft. Williams delivers an almost occult spoken word performance before it gets to the chorus, as if instructing the listener to dance with oppressive force.

“Afo Ken Doko Mien” is a bit of an anomaly on the record; a post-minimalist take on West African folk music, with whirring background synths and a repetitious refrain that translates to “you promised me that you'd be by my side”. The song plays as a soothing lullaby, transcending spirit as well as the measurement of past, present, and future.

It is hard to overstate the relentless banger that is “Wanna See Your Face Again”. Hands down the best dance track of the year. Passionate, romantic, rhythmic, futuristic, sonically colourful, and avant-chic. The kind of music that aliens from the planet Funk 3000 would use to sell you high-end makeup made from rare intergalactic space dust. Kicks all kinds of ass with its afro-funk meets house beats, and I especially love the steel drums (or agogos?) at the end.

“Something We’ll Remember” is playful, audacious and delightfully nerdy new wave funk that makes you want to shake your ass for hours on end. The “Na Na Na Na Na”s of the chorus are infectious as all hell.

Admittedly, one or two of the songs feel a little redundant of some of the better tracks on the record. But then I also feel that, by their very nature, dance records often struggle to maintain a varied listening experience, and for the most part this record delivers on that front with a few exceptions.

And with what little it may lack in variety on one or two of the tracks, it more than makes up for by having a very unmistakably singular sound throughout. SImply put, no one is making music that sounds like Ibibio Sound Machine, and Electricity is a wholly unique experience unto itself, made with evident passion and boasting a lot of eccentric style and attitude. Definitely give this one a listen if you’re in the market for something different and eclectic.

8/10

Highlights: “Wanna See Your Face Again”, “Protection From Evil”, “Afo Ken Doko Mien”, “Something We’ll Remember”, “All That You Want”

[meiming-thinks]

things to do and tips at a symphony concert 🤍

sitting thru symphony concerts can be challenging at first bc theyre long, the music can be harder to easily understand than pop, and the etiquette can feel sort of arbitrary. so here are some tips for your first symphony concert

1. the audience expects you to be *silent* at these things. no coughing. no candy wrappers. no humming. why? well it kind of takes away from the experience of the live music for some people. do i agree? not really, i think you should be able to express your enjoyment a bit more, but nevertheless, you will get dirty looks if youre humming and banging your head, and tapping your feet.

2. there are pieces and then there are movements within the pieces. you only clap after pieces, not movements! at the end of a movement, there will be a little bit of silence. but, the conductor will not turn around, and the musicians will not set down their instruments. when the entire piece is finished, the conductor will turn around, the musicians will set down their instruments, the conductor will bow, and gesture to the musicians who did some really incredible stuff to stand for recognition.

and now, onto some fun things to watch!

1. keep track of themes and motifs! themes and motifs are these little bits of melody and such that get repeated and chances throughout the piece or movement. sometimes they go away and come back later, and they often mean something big, especially in pieces that tell a story, like ballets and suites. keeping track of these little bits and seeing how they interact with each other, and how they change, is fun and helps you really understand the story that the music is telling.

2. look for unique instruments! your basic symphony orchestra will have violins, violas, cellos, basses, french horns, trumpets, some type of low brass (tuba, euphonium, trombone), flute, oboe, clarinet, usually a bassoon, timpani, piano, cymbals, and other percussion that im not v familiar with. but sometimes, especially in american classical music and 20th century stuff, the music will contain other, less commonly seen instruments. you might find harp, saxophone, piccolo, funky percussion like tubular bells, and more! paying attention to these ones and picking out when they play can be fun.

3. watch the percussionists and brass. percussionists and brass sometimes do not have much to do for a while, and sometimes, they get up to some goofy antics while waiting during their 128 measure rest.

4. watch which sections flip pages the most and least. musicians in the same section will generally all flip their pages around the same time -note: an instrument can have multiple sections within it that have different music. the sections that flip pages most are playing the most often, and those that flip pages least get to play less. violins and cellos especially will be constantly flipping, because they are constantly playing. the poor tuba guy might have two pages of music total.

5. watch the conductor! the conductor does more than keep track of the beat. figuring out what each of their gestures is signaling to the orchestra is a fun puzzle, especially if youve personally never played in a band or orchestra yourself. the conductor will gesture for things like tempo (speed), dynamics (loudness), a section coming in, articulation (“smooth” or “choppy” sound), attack, how to stop a phrase (suddenly or slowly), and more. their gestures will include their baton (the little stick), hand shapes, arm and hand movements, posture, and facial expressions. in a way, its almost like a signed language, meant to communicate how to deliver the music.

overall, be proud of yourself for getting into something new! the classical music community is ~generally~ pretty chill, and going to concerts will become exponentially less intimidating the more you do it.

[47crayons]

so, you want to write a musician?

about me: i play viola and have experience in symphony orchestras, string orchestras, string quartets (+ a few other small ensembles), and solo performances. i've done some light composition, and have friends/family who play other instruments. while my musical history is extensive, by no means do i know everything or speak for everyone.

this guide will focus on classical music/how to portray classical musicians and things that aren't as easily researched.

quick overview of instruments in a typical symphony orchestra

upper strings (violin, viola), lower strings (cello, (double) bass; i've seen viola included here too, but it's more commonly classified as upper strings)

strings also technically includes harp and piano

woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon)

depending on instrumentation, they may also have piccolo, english horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon

saxophones are not traditionally in symphony orchestras due to it being a relative newer instrument! but this is changing because more contemporary composes are including sax parts

brass (trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, euphonium)

percussion (depends heavily on instrumentation, but common instruments are bass drum, timpani, snare, crash cymbal, xylophone, marimba)

some things you should research

where the hands are supposed to go!! i'd recommend you look at pictures of professionals in orchestra settings (ny phil, cso, berlin phil are all top tier). some musicians *coughs at yoyo ma* have less than perfect posture when they're performing solos (for the same reasons famous authors can break "rules")

necessary equipment including reeds, rockstops, different kinds of sticks/mallets, rosin, mouth pieces for whatever instrument you're writing

common misconceptions

loose/photocopied sheet music is not aesthetic—it's annoying and impossible to keep organized. folders and binders are fairly common especially when managing multiple ensembles.

original copies are often expensive and required to perform a piece (legally) for profit or otherwise (though i know a few people who have bent this rule)

not all performers are good composers (i myself have very little formal music theory training), but many composers have performance histories.

not all musicians can sing.

perfect pitch is both a blessing and a curse. notes can be slightly lower/higher but in tune with the context of the piece, which drives people with perfect pitch insane.

having perfect pitch does not guarantee someone will be a prodigy, and people don't need perfect pitch to be a talented musician.

drama in ensembles does exist, but it rarely gets in the way of rehearsal. same thing goes for good friends: if your characters have even a shred of common sense, they aren't going to be talking/messing around during rehearsal.

instruments (especially good ones) are extremely expensive. people very rarely store instruments on the wall or other displays for fear of falling.

instruments are very picky and require tuning every time. every time! it doesn't take long anyway. temperature and humidity can and will make instruments go out of tune or damage your instrument if not properly stored.

some people listen exclusively to classical music, but in my experience, that's definitely not the majority

like with anything, most musicians struggle with self doubt at one point or another.

musician culture

getting excited when we hear a piece we recognize

getting frustrated because we can't remember the name of the piece (after all, no lyrics to search)

being horrified when a non-musician actor is playing a musician. yes, we notice. yes, it's obvious.

if people are joking, it's likely to be about: violas (a quick search for "viola jokes" will tell you all you need to know) or trumpets (a reputation for being overly loud, playing and not)

putting stickers (places they toured, their orchestra, or just purely decorative) on cases is common, but not for everyone. same goes for pictures (of family, past concerts, or anything) on the inside.

scrambling for a pencil when the conductor says to mark something. pencils are a musicians best friend :D

asking (and forgetting) how to split double stops/two parts at the same time. sometimes one stand partner will play the top while the other plays the bottom, and sometimes this is split stand by stand.

this has NEVER resulted in a sexual top/bottom joke. please just. don't. also no g string jokes. it's just unrealistic.

awaiting the obligatory "it's one week before our concert, and you sound like this?!" lecture

not talking about music 100% of the time!!! they have lives outside of music (most of them, at least /j). especially to close friends, music is probably not going to be a conversation topic unless something is out of the ordinary (high stress, something funny from rehearsal, etc.)

bragging/talking about how often they practice is generally not welcomed. great, but other people don't need to hear it!

stages are hot and bright. there's no way a performer can see someone in the audience with the possible exception of the first row.

practicing

three words for you: love. hate. relationship.

slow practice (like really slow lots of people recommend half speed; good for focusing on the right notes, tone, phrasing, smooth transitions)

metronome practice (while playing, it's not annoying at all! it's helpful and requires a lot of focus; when NOT playing, it's annoying and loud because it needs to be heard over the playing)

drone practice (having a machine/website/another person play one note in the background; good for tuning and scales)

and too many more for me to detail

auditions

ensembles may have entrance auditions to determine who gets in and seating auditions to determine placement within the section.

adrenaline does not make us play better; it just makes us make mistakes. and then thinking about those mistakes causes more mistakes.

some instruments, especially those with less repertoire, have common excerpts that come up frequently (i can think of one in particular that i've played for three separate auditions this year).

stopping/starting over is not recommended ever, but if you do, it has to be 10x better. most audition judges aren't looking for perfection!! they want to see how your character can keep going after messing up.

sight reading (being given new music, having ~30 seconds to look at it, being asked to play) is never perfect. i don't care how talented your character is; if they think they nailed it, they aren't experienced enough to see all the phrasing/dynamics that they didn't incorporate. no one gets sight reading perfect!!!

perhaps most importantly, musicians are not all the same! they enjoy it for a number of different reasons and have diverse and interesting lives outside of music!!! more information about specific instrument groups under the cut :)

strings

callouses. with the exception of pianists, most string players (and especially professional ones) have callouses where they press down/pluck the strings. i also have one on my right thumb where i hold my bow. cellists and bassists might have them on their left thumb from playing higher notes in thumb position.

hickeys are also fairly common, though only some people get them. upper strings will get these by under their left jaw. cellists may have one from the wooden body resting on their sternum. some people (including hilary hahn and many many others) use a cloth for comfort and to prevent hickeys.

few people want a hickey, but it might suit a character who is constantly trying to prove themselves.

our fingers do not "glide" anywhere. you can get cuts/"string-burns" from pressing down too hard when shifting. cuts like those are the only reason someone's fingers will bleed, and it's rarer than you think.

upper strings are more prone to back/neck problems from the way they hold their instruments on one side. see also: shoulder pain.

finger cramps happen. they aren't too common, but most if not all strings have experienced at least one.

pianos require tuning every few years or else the chords will be out of tune. few pianists can tune their own instrument because of how complicated it is.

piano parts/accompaniments will have so. many. pages. a page turner may sit on the right of the pianist to turn the page.

woodwinds & brass

spit. so much spit. some instruments clean afterwards with a cloth; others have a spit valve which is as gross as it sounds.

proper embouchure, or how a musician uses the muscles in their face/lips, is tiring, and people actually get strong cheek muscles. they can also easily turn red, but it varies based on a person's facial complexion. see also: good lung capacity.

flute and piccolo are not dainty. piccolo requires as much air as a tuba. an old teacher of mine almost passed out playing piccolo when she was in college.

flutes and piccolos are high, but often not shrill depending on the level of the ensemble.

reeds last a few weeks (less if your character plays for hours a day) and can be expensive to buy.

keys and valves can get sticky especially on older instruments which can result in the wrong note or bad tone.

saxes, clarinets, flutes are more likely to "honk" on low notes.

oboes are more likely to feel "wispy" on high notes.

articulation comes from the tongue, especially for brass instruments, and conductors may ask for "tah" "pah" or "wah" sounds depending on the style of the piece.

percussion

callouses from the friction between hands and sticks/mallets.

there are so many types of sticks and mallets!!! make sure to take a look at what materials are good for what instruments/sounds.

cymbals, triangle, and bass drum are not easy to play, even though they look simple.

percussionists with the exception of timpani may play more than one instrument during a piece, and they're constantly moving around in the back during their rests.

percussion instruments are too expensive for most people to have everything they ever play. practice pads are very common in place of these instruments.

ability to play one instrument doesn't translate to different instruments. for example, many percussionists don't have experience playing set/drum set.

some of the things detailed here are heavily glossed over, so if you have any questions, i'd always be happy to talk about it with you; i may not have answers, but i will try to help as best i can!!!

since you read this far, have my favorite viola joke.

what's the difference between a violist and a large pizza?

a large pizza can feed a family of four :)

tagging some people who showed interest: @writing-is-a-martial-art @ashen-crest @kg-willie @owilder

[setzappersto-pew]

StarKid and Musical Score #2

Pop culture parodies tread fine lines to avoid copyright violations, especially when it comes to music. Some go for a certain mood or genre to evoke the source. Holy Musical B@man! is a great example. Nick Gage and Scott Lamps used strictly synthesizer and an electronic drum kit. They made great use of the standard synthesizer sound, calling to mind ‘80s new wave electronic music; a darker electric guitar sound to capture the gritty Batman from The Dark Knight or The Killing Joke; and light and playful bell tones, representing the innocence of Robin or perhaps the campy silliness of the ‘60s Batman TV show.

When it’s a parody musical of a musical, the challenge is even greater. Enter Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier.

There’s not a lot of interstitial music to set the scenes, but what little there is excels with capturing the mood, like the eerie strings and woodwinds coupled with sporadic percussion during Aladdin’s breakdown near the end. Instead, Twisted features a large number of songs to fill its 2.25 hour runtime, so I’m going to focus on the instrumentals of those for this post. The instrumentation for this show includes keyboard, drums, guitar/bass, violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and alto/tenor saxophone. It’s a much bigger and more varied band than any StarKid show had before or since.

The endeavor that composer A.J. Holmes, accompanied by incredible lyricist Kaley McMahon, set out on was to evoke not only the source material, Disney’s Aladdin, but also other Disney movies of the same era and the Broadway musical Wicked. The Disney references are all over the place, including the Disney-fied StarKid logo. The latter was accomplished via the title (Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier vs. Wicked: The Untold Story of a Wicked Witch), the album cover, the method of role reversal (a villain posed as the hero of their own story), and even a direct reference to the book. But A.J., along with orchestrator Andrew Fox and music director Justin Fischer, took it a step further with several songs to give the audience a truly immersive and magical experience.

To keep it simple, I’m going to link each song--or most, as some I can’t quite figure out--to another Disney or Wicked song that A.J. was likely, or even obviously, taking influence from. The similarities are often in the instrumentation and tempo; chord progressions and adjacent melodies; or lyrics and character situations.

Not a song, but the opening music evokes the haunting strings and bells in the opening of Beauty and the Beast to a tee. Like...it’s a dead ringer, obviously in purpose.

“Dream a Little Harder”: An opening ensemble number like “Belle” from Beauty and The Beast. Introduces the protagonist and the surrounding characters with a sweet and tremulous flute at the beginning and bouncy strings throughout. Lyrics mirror each other, i.e. “Fuck you” = “Bonjour”...Nick’s favorite line, “Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!”...they all hate Ja’far vs. they all think Belle is weird. Belle is even part of the ensemble, telling Ja’far to keep his “fat face out of the mother fucking book”! It’s a pretty obvious comparison. 

“I Steal Everything”: “One Jump Ahead” from Aladdin is the obvious parallel in orchestration, melody, tempo, lyrics, character situation...everything.

“Everything and More”: Again, an obvious parody of “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. Same gentle yet sweeping melody, same lilting tempo paired with vocals timid one moment and powerful the next, lyrics exploring desire for more.

“A Thousand and One Nights”: This one was a little harder, as really none of the Disney princesses have duets with their princes. But I think it pairs well with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King, at least after Timon and Pumbaa have their moment! The back and forth between lovers talking to themselves about the other has a similar feel. Honestly, this song is pretty original and yet manages to evoke Disney love song perfectly without copying any. The gentle melody, sweeping yet sweet orchestration, and the dialogue really sell it. They knew it was the love song because they went ahead and parodied the cheesy pop covers that ‘90s Disney movies are known for with a true bop performed by Britney Coleman and Carlos Valdes.

“Orphaned at 33″: Perhaps the reprise of “One Jump Ahead”? It’s slower and more melancholy and has similar chord progression and crooning vocals. Maybe “Go the Distance” from Hercules? Both are songs of sadness and longing, but StarKid’s Aladdin is far more pathetic and creepy than Hercules. EDIT: “Proud of Your Boy”, which was cut from Aladdin and put in the stage show, is absolutely the reference here! Again, a song of sadness and longing and self-pity and lamentation of a bad childhood...and StarKid’s Aladdin is still more pathetic. Musical parallels: similar chord progressions, embellishments, instrumentation, time signature, tempo, etc.; starts with delicate notes and Aladdin just talking (this starts at 46 seconds in “Orphaned at 33″, after a prelude); lilting and tiptoeing melody in the middle (1:56 for “Orphaned”, 1:08 for “Proud”); powerful sustained vocals and sweeping winds and strings to finish. I know this song was in the back of my mind, but it just wasn’t coming to me. Thank you @hatchetfieldtheories and @melchron for helping me out! 

“Happy Ending”: The last half, at 1:50, really reminds me of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, specifically at 5:15. The quiet and tense music make way for powerful vocals and are just waiting to burst forth for a showstopping ending. Both songs are also Act 1 closers. I can’t really place the rest of “Happy Ending”, but it all reminds me of Wicked with the powerful rock guitar and drums paired with cinematic strings. Plus, I always love when multiple melodies come together as reprises, most often as Act 1 closers!

“No One Remembers Achmed”: A sillier version of “Gaston” from Beauty and The Beast. The spurned villain’s cohorts are pumping him up and singing his praises! Both melodies are jaunty, though with different instrumentation...Twisted’s featuring sillier sound effects and goofy xylophone.

“Take Off Your Clothes”: A sexier version of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Slightly modified melody, and obviously the lyrics, but it’s exactly the same.

“The Power in Me”: A solemn and sweet farewell duet between friends like “For Good” from Wicked. The delicate woodwinds and strings sound similar to the gentle synth in “For Good”. Vocal performances are cautious and tender at first but quickly become strong and confident. “You are the power in me” and “I have been changed for good” follow almost the exact same rhythm.

The titular song has many facets, so I’ll detail them here:

Opening to 1:03 and 5:55 to the end = “No Good Deed” from Wicked, with the same intense strings and percussion. The whole situation and lyrics match, with both Ja’far and Elphaba deciding to just be antiheroes because no one sees them as heroes anyway. “I’ll be twisted, it’s my turn” matches “No good deed will I do ever again” and “I’m wicked through and through”.

1:10-2:06 = “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid...it’s Ursula, so of course...but also, the woodwinds and keyboard mimicking brass evoke the same bouncy yet menacing rhythm, akin to an evil polka.

2:07-2:50 = “Be Prepared” from The Lion King. Obviously, it’s Scar’s moment...but also, they have similar deep and primitive drums and woodwinds.

The rest of the songs (”Sands of Time”, “Golden Rule”, and “If I Believed”) I couldn’t really place, but they still evoke the source materials. “Golden Rule” has a classic musical theatre ensemble number feel, with fun strings and woodwinds and delightful choruses; the reprise turns it on its head with menacing piano and bass. “If I Believed” is another take on an “I want” song; the flute and cello pair very nicely together to support Dylan’s soulful voice.

My next post in this series will likely be about the Hatchetfield series: The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, Black Friday, and Nightmare Time. There’s a lot in between, like the AVP Trilogy, ANI, and Starship, but the music for those stands out less to me. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but I think that the score is not what makes them special. The Hatchetfield stuff, however...is intense.

Thanks for reading!

[mrepstein]

The Beatles Book Monthly (No. 5, December 1963)

‘A TALE OF FOUR BEATLES’ by Billy Shepherd

PART IV (PART I // PART II // PART III)

Part IV opens in June, 1961 and charts Brian Epstein's early involvement with the Beatles.

And so the Beatles, with two experience-garnering trips to Germany behind them, got back to Liverpool. A swingin’ scene... and they were very much a part of it. It was the end of June, 1961.

But though they liked having more money to spend, they hadn’t the foggiest idea of just how much they were worth. The offers came in. Anything between £6 and £14 was the pay-packet, to be shared between Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and drummer Pete Best.

“We just didn’t know,” admits George. “We loved the work, the excitement. We didn’t realise we were often being exploited. But it was hard work and somehow we didn’t seem to have much money in the kitty after we’d kept our equipment up to scratch...”

July, 1961, could go down as a summit meeting in Merseybeat history. A steamy, summery, shimmery night at Litherland Town Hall. A young promoter named Brian Kelly announced his attraction: The Beatmakers.

George Harrison was on lead guitar. Paul McCartney on rhythm. John Lennon on piano. Drummers were Pete Best and Freddie Marsden. Les Maguire operated on saxophone, Les Chadwick on bass guitar - and Gerry Marsden nipped on and off behind a big grin to take the vocals.

Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Beatles had linked up. For one night only and for a fee which is the smallest fraction of what they’d command for such a show now.

It led to friendships between the group members... but it didn’t seem to be leading to that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the Beatles.

Says John: “We went on knocking ourselves out night after night but somehow there was a bit of frustration creeping in to it all. It didn’t seem to be leading anywhere.”

But the audiences were greatly appreciative.

Says Paul: “We started accepting dates further south. We got pretty near London on some of them. No change of material for us - still the stuff that went down so well in Germany. But we were veering away from the leather gear. Don’t make this sound big-headed, but the fact is that a lot of other groups were copying the way we looked on stage. So we changed to more ordinary clothes for a while.”

But in September, depression set in. Paul and John took themselves off to Paris for a holiday. They remember being flat broke. Remember having to search through every pocket to rake up enough francs for a Coke. Now, of course, they can go where they please and not count the cost.

And George and Pete stayed on in Liverpool, virtually lost to the Beat scene. Ray McFall, owner of the Cavern Club remembers seeing Messrs. Harrison and Best around the lunch-time sessions but they seemed dispirited. They took a lot of persuading even to join in on the impromptu roar-ups.

Let well-known Liverpool show compere Bob Wooler fill in the background to this black spot in the Beatles’ history.

“I’ve known the boys since the early days. I’ve been a long-time admirer. What they really needed was a manager in those far-off days. They seemed content not to argue about the fees they were offered. And they didn’t seem to realise that they were pulling in crowds on the strength of their own name and performance.

“After all, they had to live. They had to look after their equipment - and they often had travelling expenses to pay. It’s all very well being popular and enjoying your work, but you should be paid what you’re worth as well.

“Ray McFall at the Cavern was different. If the crowd was good, he upped the fee. That’s why the boys have always been so loyal to the Cavern. But you can understand them being puzzled at the lack of hard cash from their other venues where they were so often doubling the attendances.”

Paul and John were meanwhile spending a lot of time on their song-writing. You’ll see how much they’d already achieved in this direction as the story pushes on to the first recording days.

John and Paul could never sit down and simply write a song to order. They admit: “We have to wait for the ideas to arrive. It can happen anywhere. On a bus, or a train, or backstage at a dance-hall or theatre. Sometimes the title suggests itself first. Then we get going on the words and music. Sometimes we’ve finished a very successful seller in less than an hour.”

But their most pressing need was for a manager. Paul has told me “When we first started on paid jobs, we honestly thought we weren’t manageable. We thought nobody would want to bother with us. We were a pretty off-beat bunch of characters, to say the least. And we had a sense of humour which somehow involved us all and which was hardly in the interests of discipline. So, for a long time, we just didn’t take any notice of the advice that we should be properly handled. ‘Who’d WANT US,’ was the way we thought...

“And that’s where we were wrong...”

A MANAGER. Liverpool man Allan Williams took on the chore for a while... he now runs the Blue Angel Club on Merseyside.

But the man who was to make show business history with the Beatles knew nothing about the group in that September of 1961. That man, of course, was Brian Epstein, one-time drama student, member of a family which owned a chain of furniture and radio-TV stores in Liverpool.

He was not exactly WITH the beat scene. But he WAS in touch with the public taste through his work in the record department of the stores. He’d been there for five years, building up the business, enlarging the staff roster and increasing the turnover.

And in September, 1961, he was a puzzled man. Fans kept approaching him with: “Have you any records by the Beatles?” Brian mused. Pondered. Wondered. One young lad was particularly persistent in his demands. Brian dug deep into the record-lists. And found reference to that “My Bonnie” single, recorded in Germany, on which the Beatles played a strictly supporting role to guitar-star Tony Sheridan.

“I became Beatle-conscious for a while,” he says. “I always tried to work on the theory that the customer was right - and if they wanted the Beatles, well... I’d do my best to supply the Beatles. Eventually I traced the source and ordered some 200 copies for the record-stores. They sold quickly...

“Then out of the blue I heard they were Liverpool boys, had a rapidly-growing following - and were actually playing in a club near the store. It was a place that I’m sure I’d visited before, a sort of teenage gathering-place, but I really didn’t know much about it.

“After a while, I thought I’d better pop down there and see what all the fuss was about.”

Brian Epstein went to the Cavern. Met the Beatles. And things really started happening for the ambitious but not-too-sure group.

There are two ways of looking at this near-historic meeting. Brian Epstein’s. And the Beatles’ viewpoint.

Beatles first. Said George: “He started talking to us about the record that had created the demand. We didn’t know much about him but he seemed very interested in us and also a little bit baffled.

“He came back several times and talked to us. It seemed there was something he wanted to say, but he wouldn’t come out with it. He just kind of watched us and studied what we were doing. One day, he took us to the store and introduced us. We thought he looked rather red and embarrassed about it all.

“Eventually, he started talking about becoming our manager. Well, we hadn’t really had anybody actually VOLUNTEER in that sense. At the same time, he was very honest about it all - you know, like saying he didn’t really know anything about managing a group like us. He sort of hinted that he was keen if we’d go along with him...”

Brian, quite honestly, thought that the Beatles looked a mess. He wondered what exactly they thought they were trying to be. Their strange jackets, the rather scruffy jeans, the hair-styles, which could only have been styled on something called “chaos.”

“But there was something enormously attractive about them,” he recalls. “I liked the way they worked and the obvious enthusiasm they put into their numbers. People talk about the Liverpool sound but I sometimes wonder what exactly they mean. These boys put everything into their routines but they didn’t use echo. That struck me as being a very good thing.

“It was the boys themselves, though, who really swung it. Each had something which I could see would be highly commercial if only someone could push it to the top. They were DIFFERENT characters but they were so obviously part of the whole. Quite frankly, I was excited about their prospects, provided some things could be changed.”

And Brian told his friends: “This could easily turn out to be the biggest show business attraction since Elvis Presley.” It’s a tribute to his foresight and intuition that that is precisely what has happened.

Brian decided to get the boys together at a round-table conference at his store. A time was fixed and the boys agreed. But Beatles are not always the easiest of people to organise. Brian sat waiting... and waiting... and waiting. He was trying to cope with the vastly complex figures of Christmas orders for the store and minutes were precious to him.

Eventually THREE Beatles arrived. George, John and Pete. No Paul. Story goes that Brian got George to ring through and see what had happened to the left-handed guitar-star. And that Paul admitted he was still in the bath... but wouldn’t be long!

Brian was rather on his high-horse. He felt it was not the right thing for someone who wanted to talk business to be kept waiting. He pointed out that Paul, the cherubic one of the four, would be extremely late. “Yes,” said George, forcing back a grin. “But he’ll also be extremely clean.”

Says Brian: “That sense of humour is invaluable. You could hardly feel annoyed at their lack of business ability. They were just four individual and off-beat characters.”

Prior to Brian taking such an interest, there was great concern among Cavern people that there was a chance of the Beatles packing in all thoughts of show business careers. Bob Wooler had tried hard to get BBC television producer Jack Good interested in the group. Jack had produced beat shows, like “Six-Five Special” which had been the stepping-stone to success for artistes like Cliff Richard. But Jack was also in demand in the States... and he’d gone there to further his own career long before Bob could get any decision from the telly-folk.

Brian, having eventually assembled all four Beatles in the same room, put his propositions to them. He went through a process of brain-washing, though he did it all very tactfully. He didn’t like their manner of dress. Wasn’t knocked out by the unruly hair-cuts. Was singularly unimpressed by the way they casually drank tea on stage while in the middle of shows.

He pleaded with them rather than ordered them. He knew they were a valuable property and he was knocked out at the way their personal following was growing through the Merseyside area.

Said John: “He’d tell us that jeans were not particularity smart and could we possibly manage to wear PROPER trousers. But he didn’t want us suddenly looking square. He let us have our own sense of individuality.”

He added: “We respected his views. We stopped champing at cheese rolls and jam butties on stage. We paid a lot more attention to what we were doing. Did our best to be on time. And we smartened up, in the sense that we wore suits instead of any sloppy old clothes.”

It was a master-plan. A long-term plan if necessary but it was aimed at making the most of four young men who clearly had that star quality in them... even though a recording contract was still more than nine months away.

Obviously, Brian Epstein’s main job was to get the group on record. He knew the strength of their popularity in Liverpool and he felt it wouldn’t be a hard job to interest some of the London companies. But that was where Brian was wrong.

He even delayed any sort of action until the results of the 1961 “Mersey Beat Poll” were announced. That came up at the end of the year. And the Beatles were high and dry in top place in this important survey of how the public felt about the myriad groups operating in the scene. Said Brian: “I thought this was the ‘Open Sesame’ to the recording scene. I felt that Liverpool was important enough to have London executives falling about to sign the boys. I was wrong...”

Brian, though technically still in charge of important parts of the family business, threw himself into the job of getting the Beatles known nationally. He had the backing of the Beatles’ parents and it was to be no holds barred for the major break through.

He started visiting London. Hopefully. Optimistically. But record executives showed an alarming tendency to register non-committal gloom. Brian had to keep reporting apparent failure to the boys - by now riding higher than ever in popular acclaim in Liverpool.

Cont’d next month in No. 6

[sandu-zidian]

Blabbing about this Musician!au I started last summer that has now also turned into a marching band!au because I got sad and nostalgic because despite how shitty it could be, marching band defined my high school life and social life and I couldn’t had asked for anything else.

I also don’t have every single prequel character (because this au is surrounding the prequel characters) in Star Wars smacked into here, and I gave up halfway through a couple of months ago in terms of brainstorming. Anyways, this is hella long so check everything out under the line if you’d like! don’t want to spam everyone with something that’s like, 4 pages long

Now, you might be asking. What instruments are these characters playing, or what are they doing in marching band? well, boy oh boy do I have some lore for you.

Anakin Skywalker: alright lets start of with the “Chosen One”. Now, I gotta say. He’s got some intense brass vibes, specifically high brass. But I don’t know. He didn’t really mesh well. And given his natural talent with the Force in canon, I thought that Anakin would be a sort of prodigy. And we all know the two instruments associated with that: the piano and violin. He’s more of a piano dude, so here we go! piano prodigy Anakin Skywalker. He also gives mad drumline vibes, and I can see him as either the lead snare, setting the tempo, or the main quad player. He’s brash, slightly obnoxious, but damn is he fucking good at what he does.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I literally started this AU on the idea that Obi-Wan would play the cello. One of the defining quotes for him is that fucking “infinite sadness” quote. And we all know that cellos play some of the saddest pieces out there. (see: Elgar cello concerto) However, I can’t see him as a marching band dude. He doesn’t really give off color guard vibes (since that’s where most non-band people go to) so I have him as the resident student helper who everyone tolerates because he brings ice cream after band camp.

Ahsoka Tano: Ahsoka is a flute player. As a flute player, I have intimate knowledge on this. She’s like the chill flute player who’s competitive enough to keep her position as principal, but is also chill enough to not have a big ego that butts heads with everyone. She also gives mad color guard vibes. Also speaking about that from personal experience (am I lowkey projecting my own experiences on her? you didn’t hear that from me). She seems like the type to love swing flags and sabre, and is 100% captain by senior year.

I have Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka as siblings in this AU because I say so. Qui-Gon is around here somewhere as the resident hippie dad who lowkey smokes pot and will support his children while giving a big ‘fuck you’ to Dooku. 

Yoda’s also in here somewhere, and I love the idea that he’s an old Chinese/Asian man who refuses to speak english and will only do so with the most backwards grammar so his grandchild (Qui-Gon) and great-grandchildren (the trio) are forced to speak Mandarin/Cantonese to him (pick your poison). He just spends his days cutting up fruit and also might pull out his erhu if everyone asks nice enough. (I want to say he was a Peking Opera musician, but immigrated during Mao’s reign after he lost opportunities during the cultural revolution)

So, I know that it doesn’t make sense for a family to have 3 sets of twins and one triplet set, but fuck that I do what I want.

Cody Fett: okay so, Cody 100% plays the french horn. I don’t know, he just, he does. He’s got that air of sophistication because he can play the hardest brass instrument, but at the same time, he’s incredibly good at it and is matter-of-fact about it. He also would be the mello section leader (I was playing with the idea of drum major, but for now, leaving him as a section leader for now). He’s a bit uptight to be a low brass player, but cool enough to still be associated with the general brass group.

Rex Fett: I got Rex and Cody as the eldest Fett twins. Rex feels like a string player, so I have him on violin. I can see him be very hardworking and practicing diligently to the point where he easily sweeps through to concertmaster in high school and the local youth orchestra. He also gives of mad drum major vibes. I can see him copying music, handing out drill charts, and hauling the met around. Also, just think about Rex doing a fancy ass salute at competitions. Yes.

Next round of twins lets gooo

Jesse Fett: You could say Jesse has brass vibes. I see him as a reed person though. In concert band, he’s on clarinet. I used to think clarinets were as stuck up as us flutes but no they’re literally balls of chaotic energy ready to be unleashed. Just imagine Jesse blaming everything on his reed. I see him as the guy who switches to saxophone for marching band, though. He’s got the energy of the clarinet and the saxophone harnessed. Also, wouldn’t be surprised if he knows how to play the sousa.

Kix Fett: Y’know, when I originally made this AU, I had Kix as a musician as well. I’m gonna scratch that. He’s going to medical school, or at least, he’s planning to. He’s on the pre-med track and is dying in organic chemistry and wishes there weren’t so many pre-requisites. However, in high school, he definitely played the oboe. Of course Kix chose one of the hardest instruments to play. Also, just imagine him trying to make his own reeds. I don’t see him as a guy who’s in marching band. He’ll come to competitions and maybe football games if he’s bullied into it. Kix is the guy who’s classes are all AP and he’s dying inside.

Next round of twins yeet:

Fives Fett: shit, I forgot I gave them all real names. If I remember correctly, Fives is Frank. Anyways, trumpet vibes. Need I say more? He’s on the trumpet in marching band as well and he’s the dude who’s obsessed with DCI and always tries to play as high as he possibly can and absolutely demolishes his chops. I would say he’s section leader as well. He also hangs with the drumline at the back of the bus and always plays meme songs on blast and sends weird pictures to people’s phone via open airdrop.

Echo Fett: I think his birth name is Ethan??? I’m spitting thoughts not checking my old documents. Anyways. Echo feels like a string person. Specifically, low strings. So, he plays the bass. Upright bass. Whatever. You get what I mean. He sleeps in the case after school and hates hauling it everywhere. He was in marching band as a mello player (the easiest brass instrument to pick up for the activity so) but he was in a car crash that left him paralyzed from the hip down, and had to quit to recover. He never stopped playing, and found ways to adjust. (I do not know how exactly this would work, since I’m able bodied and also don’t play the bass, but I know he’d at least have a stool to sit on in order to lean his body on. let me know if you have other ideas i’d love to hear them!)

Finally, we got the triplets:

Dogma Fett: Dogma plays the bassoon. He’s a low reed kinda guy and between the bari sax, bass clarinet, and bassoon, he fits the last one the best. He and Kix moan over making reeds and he’s on the quieter side. He just vibes and plays all the low notes and has fun whenever he’s got some moving part. I see Dogma as someone who is only casually into marching band. He uses Jesse’s old student clarinet as his instrument and he’s always on time, knows his sets, and his technique is on point. He always finds himself roped into his brothers’ shenanigans though.

Tup Fett: Tup plays the harp. I like to think he met Shaak Ti (we’ll get to her in a bit) when he was young, and she was playing with an orchestra. He met her backstage and she offered to give him lessons. Tup’s not really a part of high school orchestra but sometimes he’ll be brought in. He’s more involved with solo work and the youth orchestra more than anything. Tup’s another on where I don’t think he’d be into marching band. Though I can see him being in winter guard as the dude who just shows up and is lowkey rip and therefore is a hunk on the rifle. His technique’s good but they’ve never been able to saddle him into fall guard.

Hardcase Fett: (i’ve given up on remembering the birth names so i’m just gonna not) Hardcase is 100% low brass vibes. He can’t be anything but a low brass. I see him as a tuba player. He’s chill, laid back, but also reliable for being the foundation of the band sound. He plays the sousaphone in marching band and always blasts either Seven Nation Army or some other popular show tune right after rehearsals. Hardcase also can play the bari sax and no one knows when he learned how to. 

OKAY we’re done with the Fett’s! Jango and Boba are in here somewhere but honestly I don’t have enough brainpower to come up with what their roles are. Jango’s gonna be a good dad though. Maybe he was a musician and that’s why most of his kids are going into music. Or maybe he’s just a supportive father. Boba’s the youngest though, that’s for sure. And he���s a little shit. Don’t know if he plays an instrument (probably) or what it might be.

Now lets get into some other characters! There’s a lot. And I wasn’t even halfway done with the characters I wanted to include. What the hell was I on last summer?

Padmé Amidala: Padmé is a flute player who quit after freshman year of high school and started taking music production and music theory classes. She loved it so much that she decided that composing was her jam. Now, she’s highly successful and often works with well known pianist, Anakin Skywalker, on piano concertos. Also, she may or may not be dating said pianists but you didn’t hear that from me.

Satine Kryze: twosetters don’t shit on me but Satine feels like she’d play the viola. She and Obi-Obi-Wan definitely dated in high school but after a year broke up on mutual terms and are just good friends now. A lot of people feel like she’d have been a better political science/international studies major than a music major but she’s good so no one complains (until she gets into a fighting match with someone and wins smugly)

Bo-Katan Kryze: shes Satine’s younger sister and is a mad athlete. She doesn’t play any instruments but she’s deeply active and is on scholarship for college, on the pre-med track with Kix. She’s very scary and most people are too intimidated by her to approach.

Plo Koon: I originally had him as an asian man, but I can see Native American as well. He plays the euphonium and he’s just a sweet man. He helps out a lot with private lessons at local high schools and is often brought in to help with low brass during marching band.

Wolffe Koon: Wolffe and Gregor (get to him in a bit) were both adopted by Plo when their parents died when they were very young. Plo was their godfather and he took them in like they were his own. They’re cousins to the Fett brothers (though don’t ask me how I have no idea). Wolffe is an engineer and works close to home.

Gregor Koon: Gregor is Wolffe’s younger brother and had a short stint of musical interest in middle school but quit after he entered high school. Gregor was in a serious car crash during college that left him amnesiac for a year before some of his memories returned. He now owns a restaurant and sticks close to home. Wolffe often comes around to check up on him because his brain injury still impacts his current life in small physical and emotional dips

Kit Fisto: Kit gives off mad trombone vibes and it’s mostly because he seems incredibly laid back. He’s one of those brass players who’s just a nice guy and while jokes around, never got pulled into jokes as a student.

Shaak Ti: like I said above, Shaak Ti is most definitely a harpist. She has that ethereal quality I think is common in harpists. She’s a tall Indian woman and she loves her job! She’s a private lesson teacher and instructor at the conservatory on top of her job in the orchestra since she’s not called in often to play. She loves all her students and gives good hugs.

Mace Windu: Mace is the director of the Jedi Symphony, the orchestra which almost everyone is involved with. He is a bass player and he likes his more classical pieces over contemporary music. He’s good friends with Yoda and sometimes the old troll has to wack some sense into Windu and have him take on newer pieces. Windu 100% gives off unhinged director vibes because mistakes and lazy musicians definitely don’t end after high school/college is over.

Quinlan Vos: this lil shithead definitely is the obnoxious, slightly arrogant, but kind of deserving of that, percussionist. He loves his snare drum and is also in the drumline. He’s the same age as Obi-Wan and the two are close friends. Quinlan is definitely slightly unhinged and is always at the back of the bus causing havoc after competitions. He’s the guy that I (OP) hate but also can’t help but respect cuz yeah he’s annoying but at least he’s good.

Aayla Secura: Aayla is Quinn’s half-sister, and plays the French horn. Again, like Cody, she’s got this air of professionalism that I associate with French horn players and like, we gotta represent the girls in brass somehow. She just fits it really nicely.

I feel like now is the time to list who’s still in conservatory and who isn’t: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Rex, Cody, Jesse, Quinlan, Padmé, and Satine are all recent graduates. Ahsoka, Aayla, Fives, Echo, Tup, Dogma, and Hardcase are still in conservatory (at varying years of course). Kix and Bo are entering med school/frantically applying and banging their heads cuz MCATs. Wolffe and Gregor are older and have been in the field for quite some time now. Plo, Kit, Shaak, and Mace are all faculty/seasoned professionals.

Somehow, I was gonna bring in The Skiratas (with proper research cuz I know very little about them), Dooku, Ventress, the Oppress siblings, rest of Domino Squad, Cut Lawquene, the other CCs, and more. I designated a page out of my sketchbook for this and my oh my the flow chart was hella confusing. How I thought I was gonna handle that in the summer before my first year of college, I have no idea. Maybe I’ll brainstorm more in the future but for now, this is all I have :]]]

Also excuse some of my slightly unhinged language I started writing this a few days ago while slightly unfocused and tired and stressed so my language is a product of that

[sunshinesukuna]

crying in my prom dress (hc scenario)

🦉 pairing: bokuto koutaro x reader

🦉 genre: fluff, lil angst

🦉 tw: corona virus, light swearing

🦉 summary: you finally make good use of your unused prom dress with bokuto

🦉 inspiration: prom dress - mxmtoon

quarantining with bokuto wasn’t all that bad

if you learned to get past his salty pancakes and soggy cereal, maybe you would be treated with a mean scrambled egg

despite being inside all the time, bokuto found good ways to take advantage of his restlessness

one of them was surprisingly, dance

turns out he has skilled hips that can be used both in and outside of the bedroom

with a few tutorials from youtube, he was moving like had danced latin and ballroom his whole life

his favorite were the waltz and the chacha

this boy literally sAuNTeRs through the hallways repeating the step sequence

“a 1 and a 2 and a 3 4 5 6 boom, hiyaa! bang, bang pow!!!”

he rewatched ‘welcome to the ballroom’ three times already, you counted

you were just glad to watch whenever you could

but he did come to ask you to join him once in a while, which you declined. 

you had duck feet and weren’t any good on a dance floor

now you were laying on his bed after a night shower, and scrolling through your phone

out of boredom, you decided to open Instagram

your phone brought you to look at your archived stories from the past

‘on this day last year’ 

you were dangling from bokuto’s neck in a long grey dress you remember you had bought for your junior prom last year

there was a big smile on both yours and bokuto’s faces as he held on to the ‘FUKURODANI’ balloons above

in the background, akaashi and the rest of the members of the volleyball team looked like they were having the time of their life partying

the bass of the music and the buzz of the night reverberated in your heart

you kinda missed it

wait... wasn’t the dress still lying around somewhere in your closet?

you hopped off the bed and started rummaging around in your wardrobe, before catching sight of the grey cloth you had worn on last year

let’s see if it still fit you

it was a little bit tight around your ribs, but other than that, it fit perfectly.

had the virus not struck at this time of the year, maybe you would be in the same place with bokuto, except this time it would be your last prom at fukurodani before you left to go off to college

you bit your lip

sure, it wasn’t your fault or anything, but more than anything, you just wanted to go back in time back to that moment

you were sure that you would forget it in the years to come, and you didn’t see any point in actually going

until bokuto asked you

that sealed the deal as one of the best nights you had in a long time

you really really missed it right now

still being in the dress you wore that night wasn’t helping

and the fact that you won’t be able to experience something like that again...

you looked down at the dress to notice something wet on it

took you a little while to realize you were sniffling a bit

you reached for the tissues on the nightstand at the same time the door to the bedroom opened

enter your lovable boyfriend, who walked out of the shower to see you crying on the floor in your old prom dress

emergency mode: ON! 

he crouches down on the floor, not daring to look you in the eye in fear that he might start crying too. 

so he settles on crouching behind you

“do you want to tell me what’s wrong, (y/n)?”

he gives you what he thinks are soothing massages

in reality, he’s just patting you on the back sloppily, but the gesture is enough to get the message across:

‘i’m here for you. i care for you’

it’s a primal instinct that makes you cry even harder.

you don’t really know what to say.

were you just going to blurt out: “i wanna go to prom and meet all of our friends again?”

that sounded too selfish

so you settle for burying your head in his open arms. 

he’s just finished showering, and your tears and sweat are mixing together on his neck, but he would go through a thousand boiling hot showers if it meant you would just smile again.

he waits.

and waits.

and realizes what you have on.

kou has vivid flashbacks of last year like you too, but he takes to it a little better and realizes why you’ve been crying

“oh honey... you miss junior prom, don’t you?” 

you nod

bokuto suddenly stands up and puts his hands on his hips

“that’s easy!” he declares. “why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

what was this boy planning to do?

he takes your hands in his, stars in his eyes as he cooks up an idea in his mind

“we’re going to have our own prom!” 

and he leaves the room

now you are in your prom dress, eyes half swollen, confused af????

what is this boy playing at?

so you’re left for around fifteen minutes, and you don’t even have the energy to pick yourself up or do anything

wether from confusion or angst you don’t know

until he comes in weARING A FULL SUIT AND BOW

“LOOK! I EVEN FOUND A CORSET FROM THE BACK!”

“you mean corsage?”

“is that what they call it nowadays?” he shrugs

“turns out those flowers were fake anyways. at least they lasted this long. oh well.”

i mean

his hair is still a little wet, and the bow could have used some ironing but...

it was the same suit from junior year!!1111 

the ruffles on the fabric were all still the same, and you could kind of make out the stains from the alcohol konoha sneaked out of his parent’s cellar

before you know it, this boy is pulling you up by your arms

he pins the corsage ever so gently onto your wrist

bokuto takes his phone out from the counter where he last left it 

then proceeds to turn on some 50s or 60s shit, you don’t know

all you know is that there are trumpets playing all around the room, he’s smiling his ass off, and

maybe you start to smile too

he’s just so lively

the same ace that can so easily crush his opposing team’s hopes and dreams lifts yours up with the same ease 

you don’t know when the tears dry up

maybe sometime during the dance off when bokuto found the soundtrack to pulp fiction

you know 

the dance off

he does it so well too!

but the tears are now gone, wait, nope

they’re still there

you’re just not crying because you’re sad anymore

there’s a thumping in your chest, the same ones you had on the night of junior prom

and how the f this one guy can manage to recreate it with such short preparation is amazing

some tacky saxophone comes on

had you stumbled across this type of music in the car or in a rather calmer situation, you would have pressed play immediately

you don’t even care, because suddenly, bokuto’s arms are around your midriff, and you’re face to face with his wide chest

his bow was gone during all the partying you two had, but you couldn’t care less

the wooden floorboards stung your bare feet, a little, but you didn’t hae much time to dwell on that

bokuto started moving

he was dancing, you realized

the song was from one of the video clips he had learned from; the same on that the had repeated the most

the waltz

but unlike the professionals he had learned from, who walked with grace that spoke of hours and hours of practice

his walk almost whispered the raw amateurity of it all

is that even a word?

to do things just because you like it, no other strings attached

and you love it. you don’t even have the guts to pull back because he’s enjoying it, which automatically makes you want to enjoy it, and he’s enjoying it because you’re enjoying it, and

the cycle goes on

 “did you have fun, (y/n)?” 

bokuto’s panting a little, and so are you, but you manage a quick nod and nothing else

his heart rate is faster than usual as you lean on it and sway along with his guidance to the music

maybe quarantine prom wasn’t so bad after all 

[interesting-blog-name]

Björk DISCOG REVIEW Part 1

One of the most recognized avant-garde singers in the world, Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic artist who has been releasing critically acclaimed albums since the early 90s, and an icon in the experimental music scene. I thought it’d be an exciting experience to dive into her discography to find out if her music resonates with me, and to understand what this revered singer is all about. I decided to start with her major studio albums first, then moving on to her early work with Icelandic band The Sugarcubes and whatever else she has out there.

 Debut

Björk’s properly titled debut is a wild amalgamation of sweet love songs, upbeat house music inspired by the UK’s early 90s scene, a hint of jazz, and of course, Björk’s enchanting voice. I won’t pretend to be a music university graduate or whatever, as I know close to nothing about what 90s music sounded like, what could have potentially influenced Björk on this album, nor will I try to give some sort of lecture about what is going on here; I’ll just cite what I enjoy and what I don’t, and why.

Debut feels authentic, it’s a finely crafted album, from its musical styles to its production to its songwriting. What spiked my interest immediately in it were the drums, and how fresh and varied they were; this is a very percussion-heavy album, the UK beats Björk implements are all about the infectious rhythms that enter your body and seem to control it, but even on tracks not so influenced by the nightclub life, the percussion is very good, in songs such as the opening Human Behaviour, with its fat bass drums, or the iconic, soothing Venus As a Boy, featuring tambourines, strong kicks, some rattle instrument, a prominent sampled echoing sound and a hint of bongos; these are all alongside various other rich instruments, violin passages that flow with the track perfectly, what sounds like xylophones peppering the track, all of this making this the best song in the album, in my opinion.

And when these instruments are not there, of course Björk herself makes up for it. Like Someone In Love is a beautiful ode to, well, love, comprised only of a harp, the singer’s eye-watering performance, and some ambient noise; it reminds me a bit too much of her cover of I Remember You, mostly because they’re both based on harps, but it is still very beautiful on its own. The Anchor Song is the emptiest on the record, closing the album up with some tension and overall introspection. It features only one verse from Björk sung two times, and like three saxophones? Definitely two at least, I’m not sure how they work, but it makes for a great, simplistic finisher (even if latter editions include Play Dead, a beautiful song, but not exactly fitting after the song before it).

Throughout the first handful of tracks, the pattern of “inward emotionally potent song sequenced by urban-life dance anthem, and back again” became apparent to me, but then broke after One Day did not transition into a dance track. Basically, my instant perception was that the record was this rollercoaster showcase of the hopeless romantic experience in a metropolitan, nocturnal city, and it may be, but if it is, it’s not as in-your-face as I initially thought. What catapulted these thoughts was the live version of There’s More To Life Than This, probably the most commercially-adept instrumental tune in the record, performed by Björk in a version purposefully awkward and weirdly personal, where she sings her second verse directly into a mic while the beat faintly plays in the background, fading further and further until the song flawlessly transitions to Like Someone In Love. It really makes you feel like your are at the Milk Bar, the night is packed, and Björk just pulls you into the bathroom and starts singing the rest of the song (for some reason); it reminded me of all those YouTube videos where the uploader takes a popular song, adds some background chatter, and soaks it all in reverb to give you the experience of listening to the song from the bathroom of a party. It is a distinct, creative way of spinning the original dance track around into something more, something that conveys this feeling of slight loneliness, even when surrounded by people, the central topic of the second song, Crying. The lyrics describe the big city, the huge crowds, but conversely the feeling of solitude and missing your loved one, or maybe even a place, it’s not explicitly told who or what Björk misses.

Romance is ever-present in Debut, through many incarnations. Big Time Sensuality, one of the most upbeat tracks here, is about a fresh romantic relationship, and the growing sensation of “something important (...) about to happen”, assumingly between Björk and whoever else. The house beat paints the scenario for this relationship as a club, by default. It brings you into this exciting nightlife, only for you to be pulled away immediately after by One Day, a track so cheerful it’s irresistible, and holding tight to the theme of romanticizing a loved one, then reaching Aeroplane in yet another beautiful transition. I have to admit this is the first song I don’t love in the album, I think it is good, and in the context of the album, definitely brings something new. What sets it apart is, this time around, the bongos are being used to their full extent, paired with birds chirping and a comfortable bass, incremented by occasional saxophone passages, this track ends up very tropical. After this, Come To Me is another passionate song, this time, Björk sings of comforting her partner and nurturing them, which naturally creates a super chill aura to the song. Accompanied by the violins and the lowkey guitars, it makes for a solid track, which in the context of the album I think eases the mood a bit too much, but is appreciated as a solid production, and closes out by bringing out the bongos once again, in a very nice outro (I should also note this is the first appearance of a real drum set on the album [I think]) (I should also also note the bassline sounds a little like early studio versions of True Love Waits by Radiohead, just some trivia).

Violently Happy right afterwards is the least interesting of the house tracks, with a mostly simple instrumental, and vocals Björk seeming to be compressed, or dowsed in some other effect. It’s not a standout in the tracklist to me, but the beauty of Debut is that the worst song is still solid as fuck. I think it’s a very consistent album, that delivers a unique and one-of-a-kind experience.

I didn’t expect this type of sound from Debut, but I was pleasantly surprised. It took me a while to like, but it definitely grew on me on with this 4 a.m. listening session I just had. I look forward to everything else I will listen to by Björk.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: Venus As A Boy, Like Someone In Love, One Day, Big Time Sensuality, Human Behaviour

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Violently Happy

 8.7/10

“Lately I find myself gazing at stars, hearing guitars like someone in love.”

 Post

Going into Post, I was aware this would be quite different from Debut. I had listened to Army of Me and It’s Oh So Quiet before, seeing as they’re two of Björk’s biggest songs, and they obviously sound nothing like the acid house beats and soft, calming ballads in her debut, and that’s what is good about it, the sudden shift from a relatively safe musical environment to aggressive, chunky electronic production in Army of Me and Enjoy, and the absolute turnaround that is It’s Oh So Quiet.

The bold production decisions are what make this album exciting and surprising, in tracks such as I Miss You, mixing a synth-line with super loud bongos and some addictive synthesized drums, and trumpets at the end of the song, or the famous use of the Locrian mode in Army of Me, creating this menacing, dissonant melody, which perfectly fits the song and serves as an appropriate intro to the album that succeeds it. But they don’t always have to be out there to be notable and great: what I can tell from around the internet is that you can ask every single Björk fan ever what their favorite track by her is and it feels like at least a quarter will answer Hyper-ballad, and (even though I’m not nearly done with her discography) I can I say it’s with very good reason, as it is an amazingly composed song; same with Possibly Maybe, an enheartened slow jam which progresses from a cute love song about desiring to be with the one she’s flirting with, to disappointment in how they treat her, to the breakup, where she states she started wearing lipstick again, sucking her own tongue in remembrance of her once lover.

The album is very love-centered, specifically focused on the desire to be physically with someone, with how Björk mentions her love interest’s touch in plenty of tracks, such as I Miss You, a song about missing someone she apparently has never been with, where she literally asks her significant other “when will I get my cuddle?”. uwu.

(also what is this cover art lmao)

Also including this thirst for deeper contact are the songs Enjoy (“I wish I’d only look, and didn’t have to touch”, “How can I ignore? This is sex without touching?”) and Headphones (”They start off as cells that haven’t been touched before, these cells are virgins”), but the subject matter isn’t always literal and spelled out, as the tracks Isobel and Hyper-ballad seem to play with the idea of a hermit lifestyle, whether it’s at the top of a mountain or in the heart of a forest, with different meanings between the two, however. In Hyper-ballad, she’s isolated from the world alongside her lover, while in Isobel, she’s completely alone, married to herself, as she says. I enjoy the theme, but I think the vocals and instrumentation, while interesting, aren’t as good as many other examples from the album, same with the track previous to it, You’ve Been Flirting Again, which employs very faint and uniform violins under some soothing yet stagnant lyrics by Björk; it serves mostly as an interlude, I suppose, but it could go a little further, in my opinion.

To end the album, Cover Me and Headphones subdue the atmosphere by a lot. They’re very toned down, the first features some really nice windy background noise, and what I think is an oud. It’s an amazing section of the album, and from what I can gather, seems to be about her own experimentation with her music, describing a journey into what I think is this very album, a big departure from Debut for sure. It then transitions seamlessly into Headphones, which, on par with its title, is a much better experience if you are wearing headphones. The buzzing bass, Björk’s nearly ASMR vocals turning into gibberish at the end, and bubbly percussion are all super pleasing to the ears, and it continues the theme of her own musical creating process, singing how her headphones saved her life, and how nothing will ever be the same; it’s almost prophetical, and definitely one of my favorite songs here.

Post is much more colorful, daring and wild than Debut, but I don’t know if I like it better than its predecessor. I feel like Debut is obviously much more comfortable and pleasing than Post, and that even though Post has amazing tracks like Hyper-ballad, Enjoy and Possibly Maybe, as an album, I’m not really feeling it as much as the last one. The sense of cohesion in the last one, and how it used the UK beats to the best of their potentials, mixing them with much more soothing tracks and beautiful vocal performances is what attracts me to it so much. I really appreciate the direction Post took, as I don’t suppose many people were doing anything close to this in the 90s or before, and it certainly has its highlights, but I think Debut just got a tighter hold of me, and I just enjoyed it more, if looking at it from a purely superficial standpoint. The experimentation here is great, but I enjoy how fresh Debut sounds slightly more.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: Hyper-ballad, I Miss You, Army of Me, Headphones, Possibly Maybe, Enjoy

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: You’ve Been Flirting Again

 8.5/10

“This is really dangerous, cover me. But worth all the effort, cover me.”

 Homogenic

Alright shit got real.

This is way better than the last two albums, and they were amazing to begin with. But this album is insane. It’s focused, but also so loose and free. It’s an amazing experience, and I think Björk in her most comfortable style yet. She doesn’t miss the mark in one track of this album, they’re all at the very least good.

It starts off with the delirious drum patterns and violins in Hunter, and I tell you, I haven’t seen a better streak of amazing songs in an album yet: from the intro to 5 Years, all the songs between it are fucking fantastic, and that is only broken by Immature, a track which I don’t think is supposed to be much more than an interlude anyway; then it’s right back with Alarm Call.

I really don’t think I have anything to complain about in this review apart from 5 Years and Immature. On the first listen, I thought Howie B’s version of All Is Full Of Love was inferior to the original, which I had heard and loved a while ago, but I can’t even say that, because this one is perfect as an outro. With the drums gone, the track feels like a goodbye from Björk as you slowly descent from heaven after listening to this album; plus, it comes right after Pluto, by far the most aggressive song in Homogenic, with the singer yelling over her glitchiest production yet. Then it suddenly gives way to that incredible outro. Other amazing transitions include Unravel to Bachelorette, decorated by the overlapping violins, and from 5 Years to Immature. The serene, gorgeous sound of Unravel against the energetic, cinematic Bachelorette orchestra is easily one of the best moments in the album as well.

I find that whenever I find an album really good, I have problems describing why, but I promise this time I’ll try harder than when I listened to MAGDALENE. To start, Björk’s singing and the instruments backing her have never been more in harmony with each other, mainly due to Björk’s and her producers’ focus on maintaining a homogenous sound throughout the record, as its title implies, and this style is the mix of strings and other orchestral instruments (including an accordion at some points) with the odd, sometimes glitchy (All Neon Like, 5 Years, Pluto) other times fleshed out and bulky (Hunter, Immature, Alarm Call) production of Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, Markus Dravs and, of course, Björk herself. Jóga and Unravel are my favorite Björk songs so far, and the fact that they come back to back, right before Bachelorette, is still crazy to me.

Alarm Call is a beautiful song about how your music impacts the world, and just an anthem of euphoria basically, which might be a little out of place surrounded by the very specific sound the album goes for, with its bop qualities and dance rhythm, but I appreciate it a lot just for how easily Björk can pour her feelings onto a track and make it work out of seemingly nowhere. This song demands happiness from the listener, and it’s extremely difficult not to give in to its groove (“I’m no fucking Buddhist, but this is enlightenment”).

In my opinion, All Neon Like is the perfect embodiment of Homogenic’s atmosphere: it’s not as brilliantly and enormously produced as the songs before it, but it is frigid and ethereal, the lyrics are sung fairy tales, continuing the genius metaphors in Bachelorette.

It’s slightly futile for me to try and dissect Björk’s lyrics one by one, but they do stand out more than in her previous records as well, even though the focus on Homogenic is mainly in its aesthetic. 5 Years is the first song that features lyrics that point themselves against someone, a former love interest of Björk, accusing them of not being able to handle her, and while Immature’s lyrics don’t go anywhere due to them consisting of a verse repeated twice, they follow the theme of abandoning a lover, and this time, the questioning is to herself, wondering how she thought her significant other was a cure to all her personal issues. Hunter, an amazing intro to an amazing album, centers its lyrics around some of the same topics as the outro in Post (Cover Me and Headphones) which describes a voyage into the unknown that was Björk’s musical endeavors at the time, her will to go the distance to create something brand new and exciting. In this intro, she compares it to hunting and bringing the food to the table. It starts: “If travel is searching and home what’s been found, I’m not stopping”. It’s fucking brilliant man holy shit.

Now that I write this, I realize, from 5 Years onward, the songs cease to be about idolizing another person, with tracks such as Immature and Alarm Bell being introspective looks at Björk and her current feelings, and Pluto being about batshit self-change. Even All Is Full Of Love, with its first lyrics being “You’ll be given love, you’ll be taken care of”, seems to be addressing more of the ambient surrounding the person than the person themselves, as if they’re a placeholder for all the angelic ambience around the listener. Maybe the song is literally about placing the listener in this scenario, who knows.

Definitely best album I’ve heard yet, and what excites me is that people praise the next album so much, I’ve never seen someone talk much about Homogenic. I literally don’t know how Björk can top this, but I’ll see.

 WORST TO BEST: 5 Years, Immature – Mark Bell’s Version, Hunter, Pluto, Alarm Call, All Neon Like, Bachelorette, All Is Full Of Love – Howie’s Version, Jóga, Unravel

 Fuck it, 10/10

“I’m a path of cinders burning under your feet. You’re the one who walks me, I’m your one-way street.”

 Vespertine

I am pleased.

This is insane, man. I think I’ll be a huge Björk fan after I’m finished with this discography. Vespertine is meticulous, it’s enchanting, it’s all-around wonderful. You can tell Björk and her team put incredible effort into this album, for it to sound as effortlessly beautiful as possible; not one idea or song here sounds forced, out of its element, or simply put bad. They unite to create one of the most astounding listening experiences I think I’ll ever get in my life.

Vespertine is proud, but introverted. As a sequel to Homogenic, it serves as its lighter half: where Björk described Homogenic as “confrontational”, “active” and “warrior”, Vespertine flips that upside down, and brings microbeats, music boxes and harps to the table. This is a very effective alternative to songs such as Jóga and Bachelorette, where the instrumentals and the singer seemed to try and outdo each other, creating these grand, empowering songs; in this album, they merge together into living, breathing and deeply personal lullabies. One of the most impressive talents of Björk is that she seems to take the identity of her album to heart, and mixes her unique songwriting and singing talents and her otherworldly personality into the project’s own personality, becoming an artform much greater than the sum of its parts.

Songs like Hidden Place, It’s Not Up To You and Pagan Poetry are Björk to the bone, with their more elaborate and ear-catching production, their humongous vocals, and would be comfortable if they were to be pulled from this album into another; however, deeper cuts such as Aurora, Cocoon, Undo and An Echo A Stain are the embodiment of this album’s aesthetic, its frigid atmosphere and tiny, fragile surroundings. They are like symmetrical, unique snowflakes when softer, or huge, arctic blue glistering caves when grander. They’re precise; stable, but at the same time would not work if they weren’t organized exactly how they are.

It’s easy to get too comfortable listening to Vespertine. The tracks are almost spiritual in a way, they convey an unparalleled bliss to the listener, and getting lost in the album is almost part of the experience. Especially in the second half of Vespertine, where things get real lowkey. Songs merge into each other, starting with the wonderful music box interlude Frosti into Aurora, which features one of Björk’s strongest vocal performances, proceeding to An Echo A Stain, a standout for its weird, suspenseful and eerie instrumental, evoking a dark vibe, it sounds like a deep underwater exploration into the darkest abysses of the ocean or some shit. The lyrics are also uniquely confrontational, they don’t portray the undying passion of songs before it, instead proclaiming “Don’t say no to me. You can’t say no to me. I won’t see you, denied.”. With all the vague and spacey lyrics, and the uneventful instrumental, it’s impressive this song progresses so well, mainly due to its weird, unsettling tone that sets itself apart from the rest of the songs. In a way, these odd and abstract lyrics mixed with the ethereal and bittersweet instrumentation remind me of some Radiohead songs, such as The National Anthem, How To Disappear Completely and Ful Stop, and I’m realizing this is a style of music I’m prone to liking.

Sun In My Mouth is not much of a standout topically or sonically to me, as it doesn’t do much to expand upon the sexuality of the album, with lyrics once again referring to inserting fingers into wherever, and closing with “Will I complete the mystery of my flesh?”, the themes seem to have nowhere to go. Heirloom depicts a reoccurring dream about Björk losing her voice, and having her mother and son pour a glowing oil into her mouth, which is a cute and artsy way of saying they’re her fuel for continuing with her craft, I guess. The lyrics don’t go anywhere with themselves after this though, but the instrumental is very creative and memorable, it creates a neat little bubble of involving, resonating synths.

Employing some heavy strings for Harm Of Will, Björk doubles down on the romance of the album, in a rather stripped-down song, with a few vocal highlights from her. It finds its place in the tracklist, I guess, although the oral sex line comes off a bit too strong for the smooth sentiment of the song.

To close Vespertine off, Unison, the longest song in the album, lays back on an ambient sample by Oval, and features one of Björk’s most unique vocal harmonies on its chorus; overall a nice, upbeat outro for a wonderful album.

I will say I felt more excited listening to Homogenic, as I think Vespertine’s romantic, sexual aura doesn’t expand into much after some of the many heavily sensual verses, while Homogenic wasn’t as tight and claustrophobic for me. Vespertine, however, was freer and left a bigger impact on me, It’s Not Up To You succeeded in making me cry. At the same time, none of the songs here felt like they didn’t belong, like they took away from the experience; every sound and line collaborates to make something bigger, something I don’t think I’ll get from many other albums in my lifetime.

 BEST TO WORST: It’s Not Up To You, Pagan Poetry, Undo, Hidden Place, An Echo A Stain, Unison, Aurora, Heirloom, Cocoon, Harm Of Will, Frosti, Sun In My Mouth

 It is a 10

“I can decide what I give, but it’s not up to me what I get given. Unthinkable surprises about to happen, but what they are, it’s not up to you.”

 Medúlla

Björk’s 2004 Medúlla is, surprise surprise, an acapella album. And to further surprise, I liked it.

After Homogenic and Vespertine, I guess there was nowhere to go but towards the more experimental. You can’t really outdo those two albums in their own game, so you gotta branch out, try different things; and trying different things is exactly what Björk excels at, apparently. With Medúlla, all that wild, bombastic or serene instrumentation her previous albums were peppered with is gone, giving way to backing vocals ranging from super deep male bass to angelic choirs, beatboxing, and occasionally an isolated instrument. The album is rooted on the most primary form of music: barely any instruments, almost no effects or audio manipulations, just many voices uniting to become one; lyrics about childbirth, the human body, oceans and, of course, love.

Listening to Medúlla is interesting because it is very familiar, while also being a completely different experience from Björk’s previous albums. Songs like Who Is It and Mouth’s Cradle are unmistakably her, while at the same time being coated with an extra layer of experimentation, and with this new direction, Björk and her team are able to channel an energy that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of her best production. Where Is The Line? and Oceania are intricate and complex, showing just how much can be done with only the human voice. The low male vocals and beatboxing structure the songs, the choirs in the background give them depth, all the sounds link with themselves to amount to some incredible songs.

On the flipside, however, few songs fail to achieve that, in my opinion. Desired Constellation is notably bare and empty, with few aspects to its composition. The mystical lyrics that characterize Medúlla are still here, describing Björk playing routinely with stars to form whatever she desires, but apart from that, there isn’t much to experience. Mouth’s Cradle and its successor Miðvikudags are also not of much significance to the rest of the album, as they drift from its acapella compositions by employing some pleasant, but unnecessary synths as the basis of the songs. The simpler, shorter interludes that are peppered through the album are pretty much the standard sound for this record, fleshing it out with small little vocal passages and, of course, gibberish. Show Me Forgiveness, from my interpretation, is Björk apologizing to either herself or her daughter (as implied by the last line, “The girl might live”), for letting her interior voice be drowned out by the exterior; Öll Birtan is a simple buildup to the aforementioned Who Is It, but the best of the bunch are Sonnets/Unrealities XI, the poem it may not always be so; and i say by e. e. cummings over some of the best backing vocals in the album, Vökuró, where Björk sings a traditional Icelandic song in a very intimate and gorgeous moment in the album, and Ancestors, which features some passionate, odd and intriguing growls all throughout it.

It’s remarkable what Björk came up with in this album, the mystical aura surrounding it and forming its lyrics, in particular the verses in Oceania where she takes the role of the Ocean, exploring its perspective of Earth, time and the continents, Pleasure Is All Mine, which describes motherhood and childbirth for a sublime intro, and Submarine, featuring Robert Wyatt, evoking a sense of rebelliousness and urgency. Great album.

 FAVORITE TRACKS: Oceania, Sonnets/Unrealities XI, Where Is The Line? Pleasure Is All Mine, Vökuró

LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Mouth’s Cradle

 8.8/10

“When in doubt: give”

Outro

I postponed ths review for like 2 months or something, I don’t even know. Basically, from Debut to Vespertine was probably a one-month span of time, while it took me about double that time to actually write about Medúlla, because of what I think was a depressive episode. In the meantime, I started just reviewing shit on RateYourMusic (my username is fantaguarana, if anyone cares). I thought of stopping, I had this feeling that the whole “writing about everything I listen” thing was really forced and starting to become a chore, but now that I actually got to it, I think I notice how much it helps me organize my thoughts on music, compared to just listening to an album and never really reflecting on what it really means.

I’ll probably stop writing about everything I listen to, and leave this blog for the albums that really change me as a person. Have a good day yall.

[halequeenjas]

Class, Sass, and a Little Bass || Evelyn & Jasmine

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @thronesofshadows & @halequeenjas SUMMARY: While visiting the Artesian, Jasmine notices Evelyn seems a bit down. Being the good Samaritan she is, she takes Evelyn out for a night on the town. 

The last time she’d been to the Artesian, Jasmine couldn’t help but notice that Evelyn seemed a bit glum. It was something she decided simply wouldn’t do. She’d insisted that they go out and have a night on the town to help the other woman get in better spirits. Jasmine pulled a few strings with the club owner and had them both on the VIP list. With endless wine and dancing, there was no way Evelyn was going to go stay sad for long. Being responsible adults who weren’t going to drive around town drunk, they had a driver for the evening. This evening, she donned a little red dress with her favorite pair of black Louboutins. Evelyn, of course, was also dressed to the aces and Jasmine linked arms with her. “You’re going to love this place. They have a huge selection of wine and the music is great,” Jasmine assured her friend, “Plus, the saxophone player is totally yummy.”

For someone who liked to pride herself on doing her best to not show emotions, Evelyn knew that recently she had been less successful than usual. Not that she entirely minded when Jasmine had commented on it - the other woman was both a friend and undoubtedly one of Evelyn’s favorite customers, though ever since they’d first hit it off, it felt a bit odd considering her anything but a friend. Which was why she’d so readily agreed to go out for the night when she’d been invited. She was appreciative of anything that helped her get her mind off of everything else. She’d worn an especially flattering black dress and had pulled on a new pair of heels. With a grin, she turned to her friend. “I find myself loving it quite a bit already, though I am certain the company of a lovely friend without a doubt contributes to that.” She bit her lip. “Well, you will have to show me this saxophone player. Though I think we ought to start with drinks. What will you be having?” 

One of the reasons she’d always loved this club was the contagious energy. Nothing like a little swing and fine wine to keep your spirits high. While Jasmine didn’t quite know why Evelyn seemed a bit down, she knew if anyone could bring some cheer, it was her. Whatever it was, she doubted her friend would be down for too long. She was far too beautiful, rich, and sophisticated to stay down. If Jasmine were to wager, she’d say she was already feeling better. She smiled brightly at her friend and responded, “I know you’d love it here. Jazz is so much classier than regular club music… not that I hate the regular clubs, but this dancing actually requires skill. And the wine selection is way better.” She leaned an arm on the bar and gave the bartender her most sparkling grin. “A bottle of Chateau La Tour White Blend, please.” She turned back to Evelyn and added, “I figured we both enjoy wine and white wine has a nice summer-y feel to it. I’m personally trying to enjoy these last bits of summer which I think requires one last pool day. I’ll definitely point out the sax player though I’m sure the whole band will be captivated with us once we start dancing.” Once, the bartender handed them an ice bucket and their wine, she took them in hand and asked, “Do you prefer one of the hightops or one of the sofa lounge tables?” 

“Well, you do know me.” Evelyn grinned. “I agree. I mean, as a former ballet dancer, this is not my typical style, but I do have some practice in it. I have always adored any sort of proper dancing.” She looked over to Jasmine as the other woman ordered a bottle of wine. “You do continue to have excellent taste. No proper offense to most of this town, but why on earth do so few people understand class? Or have properly good taste in anything?” She ran a hand through her hair, letting it fall over her shoulder. “You chose a good one, speaking as the resident wine expert of the two of us. Enjoying summer is an absolute must.” She tapped her red nails against the countertop as she glanced around the bar. “Good, though I agree. I mean, between the two of us, how could anyone think to look away?” At Jasmine’s question, she tapped her fingers against her chin. “I think a lounge table sounds quite nice, personally. If that works for you, that is?”

It was pretty easy for Jasmine to imagine Evelyn dancing ballet. She hadn’t really done it since before she was a teenager, but she’d always preferred jazz dance classes. It was a little more upbeat and fun. “Somehow, it’s no surprise that you’ve done ballet dancing. I did too when I was younger though I enjoyed the jazz classes more,” she started before she grinned wryly and added, “I can lead the way through the jazz dancing.” She set the wine down at the small table in front of the couch. It was a cozy little spot only open to those who made the VIP list. They had a good view of the stage while still maintaining a bit of privacy to chat freely. “Good taste in wine is surprisingly not an automatic, even among wealthy people. One of the richest people I know sent me a bottle of wine for Christmas that was yes, expensive, but just not good. The notes in wine are supposed to be subtle and have finesse. I don’t want my wine to taste like I’m gnawing on a piece of oak,” she noted dramatically. She ended up trashing that bottle of wine, not that her client needed to know that.  “You’re totally right,” she agreed brightly, “It’s nice and cozy over here. Good view of the stage and we still have a bit of freedom to chat amongst ourselves without anyone hearing. Speaking of--” She sneakily pointed to one of the saxophone players. He was wearing a white suit with coral accents and his skin always looked sun kissed like he had just spent a day on the beach… which was a hazard in this town, but a girl could dream of beach days with beautiful people. “That’s the saxophone player I was telling you about. His name is Ray. Not the brightest bulb in the box, but he’s talented and definitely nice to look at.” 

“My mother was in the Royal Ballet, so even though she was not around, I felt drawn to it. A way to be connected to her, I suppose.” Evelyn shrugged again.”You did? Well, perhaps you will have to teach me more sometime. Though for now, I am more than okay with you leading the way.” Sitting down, she took another glance around the club. She appreciated people like Jasmine - people who understood how to appreciate the finer things in life. Though she did not regret leaving London, she did sometimes miss the elegance that came with the city. At least, the parts of it that she had been a part of. “Well, I do own a bar, so I think that gives me a bit of a leg up, but you are correct, money does not guarantee taste in wine. I certainly have horror stories, even from my own bar.” She made a small face. “Oh yuck, that sounds horrible.” Evelyn nodded along to Jasmine’s words, following where she was pointing. “I do appreciate the privacy that it provides. For all I can enjoy showing off, I also enjoy not having my conversations with friends broadcast for the whole world to see.” Crossing her legs, she gave a satisfied nod at the saxophone player. “I can see what you mean. If nothing else, I can always appreciate good looks and good talent.” Evelyn turned to face Jasmine and held up the bottle of wine. “Might I pour you a glass?”

“Wow, talk about incredible. I get wanting to have that connection to her, I’m still just impressed she was in the Royal Ballet,” Jasmine said with wide eyes. With how much Evelyn spent on her home, it was no shock that she came from old money, but still, the Royal Ballet was one hell of a status indicator. It explained the refined elegance that Evelyn seemed to have about her. “Some time might start tonight because especially after some wine, I’ll definitely feel like dancing.” Hanging out with Evelyn was different than most of her high school friends. Even the ones with money weren’t nearly as refined. She had to admit she wasn’t even as much so growing up in American culture. How many classic night club evenings had she had with Bea and Leah? There was something more appealing about this though she wouldn’t trade those late nights closing out the clubs either. She supposed she could enjoy both the finer things in life and the more basic things. She laughed easily and agreed, “Yes, owning the nicest bar in town, I’d hope you have good taste in wine. I've personally never been disappointed with your choices.” It seemed they agreed the saxophone player was nice to look at. Not as nice to look at as either of them, but that was a tall order. “A glass of wine sounds perfect,” she responded with a wide smile. “So,” she started off unable to quell her curiosity, “I know tonight is a fun night, but if you’d like to talk about anything going on, I can be a good listener when I feel like it.” 

“For a few years, yes. It is how she and my father met. She was quite impressive.” Any of that sort of information was surface-level enough - and furthermore, it was information that came up if anyone searched for Evelyn anyhow - and she had very much wanted to be like her mother in many ways, even if being a dancer like her was not the primary one. However, it was one that she could connect with others about, even if they did not have the exact same shared experience. “It would be an honor to dance with you tonight, so please do let me know when it strikes your fancy.” It was nice, having someone like Jasmine around. A valuable, though uncomplicated friendship. Something she found herself craving more and more lately. “I do my research if the occasion calls for it, and while I may have not been a wine expert for years, I have always had good taste in many things, I think, and so it only took a little bit of reading when I decided that this was what the town needed. Thank goodness you both know how to sell the best houses in town and you appreciate my place of business.” She let a small smile cross her lips and she opened the bottle and poured each of them a generous glassful. “Most of all, I am quite pleased to consider you a friend. The others are simply added bonuses.” She took a sip of her wine as she considered Jasmine’s question. “I broke up with the person who I was seeing. Trying to move past that. Clearly not as smoothly as I might have liked. I never saw myself as the sort to react in such a way to romance, after all.”

“Oh my god, that sounds like something out of a rom com,” Jasmine commented somewhat incredulously. She was almost positive her own parents had married for money, not that they didn’t love each other, but it seemed like a primary factor of their marriage. They had both been very business minded. “After some wine and when the perfect song strikes, I’ll do just that.” It was nice to relax a little bit. Before visiting, she had placed wards around the building. She’d helped the owner buy his house and with an exorcism later on, so he had not qualms with her keeping wards up so she could enjoy some Larry Bob free evenings out. Plus, she’d surely have a hard time explaining a poltergeist to what was arguably her most normal friend. And definitely not in an average way. Evelyn was definitely classy and something else, but she didn’t want her thinking she was a freak. She found her fingers drumming along to the upbeat melodies of the trumpet and smiled as Evelyn spoke. “Oh makes sense, we’re still young. Research and learning is always applicable… especially when it comes to wine. And shoes,” she added the last part eagerly. If shoes being a hobby was wrong, Jasmine didn’t want to be right. “I’m pleased you’re my friend as well. The same could be said of you.” Evelyn was particularly great at gift giving, but her company was just as great. She frowned a bit at the mention of a breakup and the way she seemed to scoff at romance. She braced herself with a sip of wine before she said, “Oh, breakups are totally the worst. It’s not like you date people with the intention of ever breaking up, but sometimes it just happens. And hey!” She gave her a small nudge on the arm, “Romance is an okay thing to be sad over, though I’m positive you’ll find your person sooner rather than later. I mean-- you’re hot, you’re rich, you’re smart, you’re classy-- literally anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“Believe it or not, you are not the first person to tell me that.” Evelyn grinned. Despite having very little knowledge of actual rom-coms, from all that she did know, her parents’ marriage and meeting did sound like that. The deeper reality was far more complicated, and not something she often got into. Besides, some part of her liked to believe that her parents had been entirely in love up until her father found out about the fact that her mother wasn’t human. It was one of the few amounts of naïvety that she still held fast to. “I look forward to this quite a bit.” This night out was absolutely something that she needed - and though jazz was not normally the sort of music she listened to, Billy did have a fondness for jazz piano playing at the Artesian and so in the past few years she had come to be more aware, and she preferred it to whatever sort of electronic music that she knew was popular at most clubs these days. “We are indeed still young. Besides, why not make things into a learning opportunity. I must admit, I find it especially satisfactory to tell certain customers of mine all about wine, particularly because they rarely expect me to have such deep knowledge, despite owning the place. I have done a fair bit of reading about business and stocks as well, mostly out of spite. I do not like being put down, and if I can show them up when they are acting especially stuck up, all the better.” She took a sip of her wine and offered Jasmine a grin. “I am glad to hear all of that.” She ran a hand through her hair. “They are rather terrible, I must admit.” Evelyn bit her lip. “Well, thank you. You are all of those things and more. I think that in this case, I just thought that my ex was possibly my person. I suppose I do not like to be wrong.” She took another sip of her wine. “Is it wrong to still want to talk to him? Even though I feel mad, and I am certain he feels the same - or rather more certain that he wants to get rid of any memory of me? He left a box at my house with everything I had left by his house.” Evelyn shook her head. “At least I know that I have friends like you,” she gave Jasmine a small nudge back, “who are excellent at knowing just when I need a distraction.”

“Then it must be true,” Jasmine responded happily as she took another sip of the refreshing white wine in front of her. She could only hope her life eventually got its romantic comedy moment, but she wasn’t too worried about it. Outside a pesky poltergeist that wouldn’t leave her alone, she was doing well for herself and was happy with where she was. It only made her happier that Evelyn was all ready to do some jazz dancing with her. There had to be some sort of science somewhere that said it was impossible to be sad when buzzed on white wine and dancing to jazz. If not, maybe she’d fund that study. Her hands made a small clap as she exclaimed, “I love that. It’s always satisfying to surprise people older and more experienced than you with your knowledge. I imagine some of the older men must be the worst about that.” Was she snobby herself? Yes. Snobby old men still annoyed her to no end. Especially the older realtors who thought she didn’t have a place in the business yet still handed off the haunted houses they couldn’t sell to her. Selling them at record speed always showed them. It didn’t erase the annoying factor of having to prove she was worthy of respect. She nodded along as Evelyn spoke about her ex. She could relate easily enough. She had thought Josh was going to be her forever person until she found out about his side fling. If there was one thing she would not stand for, it was cheating. “I get what you mean. It is a crappy feeling to think someone is supposed to be that person for you and then they’re just not,” she said almost wistfully. She finished off her first glass and poured some more for herself. She gestured to see if Evelyn would like more. “Oh, dropping off your stuff is a rough part and I think it makes sense to still want to talk to him. I mean, you were a big part of each other’s lives and it’s hard to shake that, but you have to. Men take that as groveling or wanting them back even if it’s not the case. I take it things ended poorly?” The last part did make her smile a bit. “Glad to be here and bring some cheer.”

“It must be, I suppose.” Evelyn raised an eyebrow at her friend. Focusing on thoughts about her parents was not a good road to go down, particularly not right now. Not when that reminded her too much of everything she sought to ignore - when it provided her with memories of her first anxieties of not belonging. Of that time with her mother’s journals and the look on her father’s face that was forever etched into her memory. “Right? It is the best. Truly.” Making a face at Jasmine’s next comment, Evelyn gave a nod. “Oh, they are. It is particularly delightful when they think they can both hit on me and talk down to me. I remember when I first opened the place that I got to give a good few of them a shock when they found out that I owned the place.” Though she was well-aware that she could be stuck up herself at times, it was never in the same way that some of her customers were. “Exactly.” She forced herself to relax. This wasn’t her bar, and breaking a glass here would not end well - besides, the last thing she wanted was to cut herself and have her utterly delightful though wholly normal friend push her away. Taking in a deep breath, she adjusted her focus back on Jasmine. “Not used to it, I suppose. Though,” she bit her lip, “I mean, I was not exactly raised with the idea that showing all of my emotions is a good thing. So all of this was a bit overwhelming.” She scrunched her nose. “That much is also quite possibly the wine talking. Maybe my tolerance is not what it used to be.” It didn’t stop her from taking another sip before nodding for Jasmine to fill up her glass again. “We were. For four months.” Evelyn shook her head. “Yes, I am not going to give him that. Ended poorly? You could say that. He was not everything I thought he was, and I might have reacted strongly to that. But it is fine. I just worry a bit about running into him in town.” However, Jasmine’s smile brought one of her own across her face. “Glad to have you.” She took another long sip of wine.

Older generations of men really were something else. Jasmine couldn’t easily understand how a woman of any age would be attracted to them, but she assumed it had something to do with their wealth. Was wealth worth the complete loss of self respect? She’d say no and that was saying a lot. “Show them just how smart women can be. Who said we couldn’t have beauty and brains,” she asked playfully. At the mention of these same men hitting on her, Jasmine was not all surprised. For whatever reason, certain men thought mansplaining was attractive or something. It wasn’t. Respect was way more attractive, but some men just needed to feel like they were better than literally everyone. Usually that meant overcompensating. With a laugh, she retorted, “Oh, of course they do! Have to act all mighty and treat you like you’re dumb to show how great they are before they hit on you. Any woman with an ounce of self respect wouldn’t put up with that crap.” As she spoke more of her ex, Jasmine frowned a bit. It was clear she was really going through it and she wanted to go off on a limb and say no man was worth this much distress, but she’d had some rough break ups herself. “I can see that. You seem like a woman who is usually right, but some people are better at hiding who they are which makes it easy to be wrong about them,” she tried to assure. Sage wisdom wasn’t necessarily her forte unless it came to designer clothing and the best makeup products. Life-- well, she’d made a name for herself, but she was still figuring shit out too. They all were. She shook her head, “Hey, we’re all allowed to show emotion from time to time. We’re not robots. I don’t think they’ve figured out how to make robots look this hot just yet.” She cracked a smile at the last part and gestured to them. As suspected, it had ended poorly. “Well, it’s not your fault he wasn’t who you thought he was. Some things can be serious deal breakers and a woman of your standard is bound to have some of those. All I know for sure is you’ll find someone way better for you. I mean, come on, who could resist that Evelyn charm?” She gave her friend another playful nudge and finished off the last of the wine. She took her friend’s hand and said, “Come on, we’re dancing now. Trust me when I say it’s impossible to be sad while dancing to a song with some good swing.” Though Evelyn boasted she was more of a ballet dancer, she caught on quick as Jasmine led them through some moves. The energy seemed to be enough to have Evelyn in mostly good spirits again so Jasmine would consider the night a success.

[fnlrndcllctv]

Tekken

In our Soundtrack Sunday series, we take a look at the music of fighting games, track by track!

For the fifth instalment, Shaun Eddleston takes a look at the music of 1994’s Tekken…

(For the purpose of this article, only the Arcade version of the game’s soundtrack is being covered).

In 1994, 3D fighting games were still in their infancy. SEGA’s first fighting game experiment in the form of Dark Edge and the boundary-pushing Virtua Fighter had barely been out for a year, and games such as Battle Arena Toshinden were still just around the corner for the next generation of home consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and SEGA Saturn.

Namco wanted in on the action, so enlisted the talents of Virtua Racing & Virtua Fighter game designer Seiichi Ishii to help develop 3D fighting game of their own, based on a hardware demo that was initially developed to show off some fancy new graphics off to investors. What started off as a game called “RAVE WAR” would eventually go on to become not only one of the most successful and longest-running fighting game franchises, but one of the biggest selling video game series of all time; Tekken.

As the technology was still somewhat limited at the time, Tekken’s stages were a simple affair. A seemingly infinite scrolling plane placed in front of some parallax backgrounds to give the impression of depth, each of these fighting arenas required a little bit more oomph to push forward and create a suitable, varied atmosphere in which players could beat each other up.

That’s where the music comes in. As Tekken was such an early entry in the realm of 3D fighters, the soundtrack played a considerably larger role in establishing how the game felt than in later entries.

So, how does the original soundtrack holdup today?

Let’s find out…

The game’s introduction is fairly non-eventful in its 20-second runtime, but it does make good use of the game’s stereo mix by panning left and right to create a more immersive effect, and reminds me a little bit of elements found in the PlayStation startup jingle.

Tekken’s character select music is a loop of what initially appears to be a fuzzy, overdriven funk bassline over a simple drumbeat, but to me personally, there was always something about this version that didn’t sit right with me. Upon listening closer, I think I’ve figured out what it is.

Behind the upbeat bass that is designed to get players pumped up before a fight, there’s two droning chords being played in the background that elicit a very serious, uneasy tone. Its a strange sensation that’s also present in the PlayStation version of the soundtrack (although it’s not as strong, thanks to better quality remixing!)

“Marine Stadium, Japan” is where the soundtrack has the most fun with the stereo mix, creating a dizzying effect by throwing samples at the listener from all directions in the left and right speaker. Once the track gets moving, there’s a call & response going on between many of the tracks separate elements, running a fine line between being a disjointed mess and a brilliantly cohesive piece.

Luckily the rhythm section and background pads do a great job of keeping things in check.

Definitely one of my favourites in the game.

“Chicago, USA” is probably the grittiest track of the OST, and is probably closer to what a lot of the game’s music sounds like in the modern era than the rest of the tracklist.

The fuzzy bass tone of the character select screen makes yet another appearance here, and immediately starts to make each of the “verse” sections feel incredibly busy and muddies the entire mix straight away.

The chorus, although very brief, saves the song in a big way. The soaring keys, accompanied by some fun percussive claps, make this one of the most enjoyable songs that still holds up really well today.

On a related note, the arrange version found in the PlayStation port is flawless.

The most immediate thing I noticed about this track is just how loud and distracting the bass is. It rumbles throughout the majority of the runtime, and almost ruins the whole experience for me, that is until the bass drops out and allows listeners to focus in a bit more on the tracks other elements.

Once you get past the overpowering synth bass, this is actually a really fun track. Utilising samples of traditional Chinese stringed instruments and gong hits, it’s a high energy track that perks up the players fighting in the mountainous stage.

Imagine a hard-hitting techno remix of Chun-Li from Street Fighter II’s music and you’ve got the right idea.

“Angkor Watt, Cambodia” is probably the closest that the game comes to an industrial sound, and I mean that in a literal sense. The drums and bass is accentuated with what sounds like stylised machinery interspersed with synth leads for the whole track. This robotic selection is an odd choice to use for a stage that’s based on the real life Angkor Watt (i.e. a complex of ancient temples in Cambodia, NOT a factory filled with heavy machinery).

The track also ends before it has the chance to build up into anything really interesting, and remains as a bit of a teaser for me.

“Fiji” is unlike anything else in the Tekken soundtrack, and is arguably one of the series’ most iconic pieces of music (it gets revisited a handful of times throughout the franchise’s long history). The track dials things up into party mode, with steel drums and a catchy salsa beat that really makes you feel like you are on holiday on a tropical island, with a bassline that you’d expect to hear in a bustling nightclub.

A true highlight of the soundtrack, and most definitely the biggest earworm of the whole tracklist.

With “Acropolis, Greece”, we steer into something with a much more dramatic mood.

While the drums and bass for most of the song leave a lot to be desired in terms of differentiating themselves from damn near every other song in the soundtrack, its the the chorus that saves the whole composition. Backed up by some choir keys that remind me of Angel Dust-era Faith No More (the best era, by the way!) and some military-style drumming that’s sprinkled throughout, it builds up to something pleasant, even though it doesn’t quite reach the majesty of the location’s namesake.

“Kyoto, Japan” follows in the footsteps of “Sichuan, China”, in that it utilises samples of traditional instruments from the location’s culture.

This is another track that makes great use of the stereo mix, with the instruments constantly in flux from the left to right speaker (and vice versa). The song does feel a little choppier than the rest of the soundtrack in places though, and the constant “un-tiss-un-tiss-un-tiss” drumbeat mixed together with the percussion samples of blocks being hit makes the song sound like something from the Samurai Shodown games if they were all on ecstasy.

“King George Island, Antarctica” is one of the more interesting items on this fighting game menu, as the song is driven forward by something outside of the simple drumbeat and funk bassline. Instead, it’s powered by an ongoing drone sound hidden in the background. While not quite in Sunn O))) territory, it’s something that makes the track feel unique to its peers, even though it largely contains a lot of the same elements as them.

This one took me by surprise.

Most of the runtime of “Venezia, Italy” sees the music simmering away comfortably, then once the chorus hits, it erupts into a slightly operatic, adventurous display of strings and choirs. Not only that, but for the latter half of the brief chorus, the drum beat instantly shifts into a jazzy offbeat section that definitely threw me off in terms of where I was expecting the music to go.

It’s a gamble that ultimately pays off, and it’s one that results in one of the more underrated tracks in the collection.

“Windermere, U.K.” is where the quality of the game’s music takes a hard hit.

Everything in the song sounds like you’re listening to it through a wall, with the individual instruments being drowned out by the overblown bass and frankly dull drum loops, and even then, the synthetic saxophone sections of the song don’t sound very interesting either. It’s a couple of minutes that holds the entire OST back.

At least the Arrange version in the following year’s PlayStation port was an improvement.

From the game’s weakest track, we head straight into one of the best moments in the entire OST.

“Monument Valley, USA” is one of the most ominous, evil-sounding stage themes that you’re likely to encounter in any fighting game. Just over a minute of harsh windy soundscapes, thunderous gongs, grandiose strings and monk chants that feel more like a summoning of an ancient demon than an actual song. It’s such a deviation from the rest of the music in Tekken, almost to the point where it could be from a totally different game altogether.

The PlayStation version of this song is rightfully in my top 10 favourite fighting game tracks of all time.

Tekken’s final credits music is an absolute pleasure to listen to. In just a couple of minutes, it effectively melds together all of the different vibes of each stage in the game without resorting to just clipping them together as a cheap montage.

Besides, it’s just a relief to have something relatively soothing after dealing with the horrid AI of Heihachi as a final boss.

Overall, the soundtrack to the very first Tekken game is pretty far away from people may be used to from the high intensity of the modern entries in the franchise.

Instead of punishing dubstep and songs you’d expect to hear from a harder-edged Dance Dance Revolution game soundtracks (is that even a thing?), the music selection here is much simpler and way more subdued.

Tasked with trying to represent the various locations from around the world, Namco Sounds did an admirable job getting the vibe right for each stage. From the absolute party of “Fiji” and the sports broadcast jingle of “Marine Stadium, Japan” to the gritty club beats of “Chicago, USA” and the windy soundscapes of “Monument Valley, USA”, the Tekken soundtrack is a varied, interesting mix that not only gives each landmark and setting more personality, but also attempts to set the bar for a series that has since become known for its great music.

Now, time to try and get “Fiji” out of my head until Tekken 2’s edition of Soundtrack Sunday…

The soundtrack is available on vinyl here.

Are you a fan of the original Tekken’s music? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

[dustedmagazine]

Lambchop — TRIP (Merge)

Photo by New Formalists

TRIP by Lambchop

It is the season of the cover, and who knows why? Perhaps it’s the pandemic driving us to seek solace in songs from better days. It might be the lockdown preventing us from gathering the life experiences that are necessary in creating new art. It could be a growing sense that people are not paying attention the way they used to, so why blow good material on an audience that’s running around with its hair on fire? For whatever reason, there are lots of covers floating around, but few as good or as interesting as the ones collected on this LP from Lambchop.

Kurt Wagner usually writes and/or chooses all the material for Lambchop albums, and he typically takes the lead role in arranging and recording these songs. But late last year, looking for material to record, he decided to try something different. He asked all six members of his band to pick out a song for Lambchop to cover. Band members would then lead recording sessions for their chosen song, one per day for six days. At the end, they did a couple of shows. This was December, so shortly after, the world fell apart and that was the last time Lambchop gathered as a band. Yet while live music became a thing of the past, Lambchop at least had this document of its members’ varied interests, its musically proficient yet soulful way of attacking a melody and its restless search for personal meaning in songs that other people have written.

Take “Reservations,” which at 13 minutes runs nearly twice as long as the Wilco original. The opening four minutes strip down Tweedy’s ruminations to bare truth, framing Wagner’s deep voice with piano and scattered, distant sounds. There’s a choral swell in the refrain, which turns indie confessionalism into a revival meeting. Still for the most part, this is an aesethic that is simple on the surface but filled with shifting, glittering subcurrents: a jangle of bells, a distant thread of saxophone, voices, hums and roars and overtones. And that’s just the song part. A long piano outro takes up roughly half the song’s duration. It’s just a slow shifting between chords, implying the melody but not articulating it, electronic sounds subtly weaving through the tone and drums pattering through. It is that and only that for seven minutes, and whether you think it is transporting and revelatory or kind of a snooze depends entirely on your sense of how much has to happen within a given space of time. Which may have changed since the pandemic. Or maybe not.

You might expect a Lambchop covers album to be mostly old country tunes, but there’s actually only one. That’s “Where the Grass Won’t Grow,” written by Earl “Peanut” Montgomery, but made famous by George Jones. It’s the song that steel guitar hero Paul Niehaus picked out, which makes sense. His unearthly twang wreathes the cut in a sun dappled surreality. Otherwise, the production is warm and clear and reassuring, the plunk of acoustic bass, the shuffle of drums, the splay of piano chords all precisely articulated and given space to breathe. The Lambchop version of this song runs a bit slower and more ruminatively than the George Jones one; it eschews the vibrato-touched, female harmonies that Jones used to build out his choruses. Yet more fundamentally, the Jones cover sounds unsentimental and matter of fact about the harshness of rural life. In 1969, when it was released, most people still had relatives on farms and knew how hard it was. Now, a very different world, Lambchop infuses rural imagery with mysticism, emphasizing the beauty of a lost world, the flowers growing up out of a grave. I spoke with Wagner a few weeks ago about how the meaning of songs change depending on context, and this is a song where I feel that very strongly.

Other cuts are less what you’d expect. There’s a dreamy re-imagining of Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” with a choral drift where the bounce and funk used to live and a loose, slightly goofy take on the Supremes’ “Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone.” There are two songs you probably never heard before, the Cleveland garage rarity “Shirley” from the Mirrors and an unreleased cut from James McNew. In all of them, the band sounds like Lambchop, though sometimes dressed in unexpected clothing. They make an effort not to sound exactly like the original—except perhaps in the Mirrors cut which hews very close to the 1977 version—and to find something that speaks to them in the material.

In short, they pay the best kind of respect to material they love, finding a way to live inside it and change it and make it breathe. The two bad things you can do with a cover are not understanding the raw material and not giving people a reason to listen to the new version. Lambchop avoids both pitfalls and creates something that is not quite new, but reshaped and revitalized.  

Jennifer Kelly

[sinceileftyoublog]

HAIM Album Review: Women in Music Pt. III

(Columbia)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

For HAIM, the title Women in Music Pt. III is suggestive that, more than their previous two records, their third centers around the experiences of being an all-female band in a historically white cis male-dominated scene, at least one that wouldn’t call catchy riffs written by a man “simple” or call attention to the faces a man makes while playing. What it doesn’t let on to is how deeply personal the record is, how, by unabashedly embracing genres and styles of music that they love, HAIM have made far and away their best album. Co-produced by the usual suspects, Danielle Haim, Ariel Rechtshaid, and ex-Vampire Weekender Rostam Batmanglij, it’s instrumentally and aesthetically dynamic and diverse, consistently earnest without devolving into cheese.

Some of the songs on Women In Music Pt. III were written in mere minutes, and that’s not to say that they’re lazy or lacking. On the contrary, they’re evidence of HAIM’s ever-growing pop chops. “Up from a Dream” is a Tame Impala-like shuffle, while “I’ve Been Down” employs stream-of-consciousness singing evocative of Sheryl Crow or Lucinda Williams. Their styles contrast, but they exude spontaneity. In fact, both within and among songs, HAIM juxtapose contrasting sounds and references and make them sound like they’ve always belonged together. “Los Angeles” combines saxophone from Henry Solomon and a hip hop beat, Batmanglij’s familiarly plinky piano and reggae-tinged guitar plucks. “I Know Alone” features propulsive techno 808′s and vocoded vocals and still finds time to shout out Joni Mitchell. “Gasoline” and “3 AM” are sexy and funky without trying too hard; the latter opens with a recording of a dial tone and a voice initiating a booty call, for which the band hilariously auditioned their friends. Even without knowing the context, intimate touches like these shine through.

The parts of the album that are autobiographical are especially heartfelt, musing on broken relationships, ended friendships, depression, and toxic masculinity. “The Steps”, about trying to repair a relationship with a bored partner, segues nicely into “I Know Alone”, whose main line, “I know alone like no one else does,” is especially prescient in light of today. “Hallelujah”, one of a few country-style highlights, gives space to a moving verse from Alana Haim about a best friend who died in a car accident, all while boosting the safety net of sisterhood. (“Laughing together like our thoughts are harmonized / Been that way since '95,” sings Este Haim.) “FUBT” (which stands for “Fucked Up But True”) is about being in an emotionally abusive relationship, something all three band members have talked about experiencing. And “Summer Girl”, even with its obvious “Walk on the Wild Side” aesthetic lifting, is a tearjerker, Danielle Haim’s song about wanting to be the best she can be for her real-life partner Rechtshaid during a time the band was on tour and he was dealing with a cancer diagnosis. (He’s since recovered.)

As is the case with Women in Music Pt. III, the simplest songs are often the most effective, and two-minute acoustic guitar ditty “Man From The Magazine” is the most righteous song HAIM has ever written. It refers to the true tale of an interviewer who disgustingly asked Este Haim whether she makes the same faces in bed she does playing bass. “What did you really want me to say back?” they ask in the song. It’s, unfortunately, a catch-22 for a woman: Respond positively, society slut shames you, respond negatively, they call you a prude. The final line on the song holds no punches: “You don’t know how it feels to be the cunt.” The contrast between the wonderful anger and frustration of the words and the bop of the music is emblematic of the album’s success as a whole: HAIM shed light on the thankful benefits and unfair pitfalls of being women in music and people in the game of life while effortlessly cementing themselves as curatorial rock masters.

[damaless]

Harmony & Counterpoint

Chapter Five: un poco meno mosso

Momo rolls over, sighing, and frowns as her knee bumps a wall on the wrong side of the bed. Her mouth feels fuzzy — had she not brushed her teeth before going to bed? Wait…

She opens her eyes. Right. The migraine. Kyouka’s room. So where…?

She scans the room. Instruments line the far wall: keyboard, cello, guitar, bass, saxophone. Along the adjacent wall, Kyouka’s desk, with papers spread all over it, some mix of coursework and compositions-in-progress, presumably. Her eyes shift downward and she finds Kyouka herself, curled up on a beanbag chair, fast asleep.

Oh, no. She’d been in no shape to refuse anyone’s aid or hospitality, but putting Kyouka out of her own bed overnight is an egregious imposition. She’s practically sleeping on the floor.

And that’s not the only problem.

Her stomach sinks and an echo of last night’s migraine pulses through her head — she’s lost precious time that would have been spent on assignments — she’ll have to work through several mealtimes or possibly skip piano practice all week in order to catch up.

Her phone has been plugged in and placed on the nightstand — Kyouka’s doing, surely; ever so considerate — but she only feels worse when she reaches over and tilts it to check the time. She’s missing her morning class. She’s not even a month into her first term at university and she’s already begun skipping classes.

Her eyes sting, and her breaths are coming faster and shallower no matter how she tries to get herself under control. She wipes at her face futilely.

“Momo?” Kyouka’s voice is still hazy with sleep — she’s woken her up now, too, with this ridiculous overreaction, after ruining the quality of her sleep—

“Hey, what—?” The mattress shifts, and Kyouka’s hand settles on her back, rubbing circles. “What’s going on, hon? Does your head still hurt?”

She takes in a stuttered, uncontrolled breath, and tries to respond, but her throat feels like it has a lump in it and the words won’t come. She shakes her head, instead.

Kyouka just sits there with her, hand continuing to move soothingly against her back. Until she swallows, and manages to speak.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, voice shaky. I’ve terribly inconvenienced you — I took advantage of your hospitality—

“I took your bed,” she manages, eloquence failing.

“Momo.” Kyouka leans into view, face tilted towards her. “You’re my friend, and you were sick. You’d’ve done the exact same thing for me if our positions were reversed.”

That’s true, but the circumstances would be different, she wants to say.

“My bed is bigger, though,” is what comes out of her mouth instead.

Kyouka flushes pink to the tips of her ears, and Momo’s eyes widen as the implications of her statement catch up to her.

“I mean, um—” She blinks a few times. There’s isn’t really anything she can say.

Then Kyouka’s eyes crinkle, and a hand comes up to cover her mouth. Momo sobs a laugh, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Kyouka lowers her hand, eyes softening. “What’s really going on, huh?” She reaches over to the nightstand and produces a box of tissues.

Momo exhales a shaky sigh, taking one and dabbing at her eyes. “I’m— I’ve been so tired, these past few weeks.” She bunches handfuls of the bedspread in her fists, looking down at her lap. “And now I’ve fallen even more behind, and I’m missing my morning class. I’m going to need to somehow push myself even more to make up for it, but that’s the behavior that caused me to be such an inconvenience to everyone last night—”

Kyouka’s hand comes next to hers on the blanket, palm up, a silent offer. and after a moment of hesitation, Momo relaxes her fist to take it.

It’s nice, having someone provide comfort with simple, physical touch. Her parents love her, they do, but they’re not especially warm or affectionate people by nature.

“What class?” Kyouka asks, quietly.

“Business Ethics,” she replies, and Kyouka’s brows furrow thoughtfully. “I have a big assignment for it due next week, too, which I haven’t even begun to work on.”

Kyouka hums, but doesn’t elaborate.

“What are you thinking?” Momo tilts her head.

Kyouka shrugs. “I don’t know if you want my advice, but…” Their eyes meet, and Momo nods. “You have so much on your plate, it doesn’t seem sustainable.”

Momo sighs. She’s right.

Kyouka shrugs. “If you ask me… it’s still early enough to drop courses without penalty, so if your ethics class isn’t a prereq for something you’re planning to take next term…”

Momo shakes her head — it isn’t.

Squeezing her hand gently, Kyouka continues. “Why not just drop it? Then missing your class doesn’t matter, and right away you’ve got one less assignment to worry about.”

She makes a good point, but… Momo worries at her lip.

“You’d still be taking more courses than any reasonable person would ever expect you to.” Kyouka looks down at their joined hands. “It’s hard to watch when a friend isn’t taking good care of themselves. That headache was no joke; it seemed like you were feeling awful.”

Momo shakes her head. “It wasn’t a particularly enjoyable experience, no.”

Kyouka smiles, but another expression briefly flits across her face, too quick to discern. “At least… you got to have Eijirou help bring you here… Lucky you?”

She tilts her head. “I guess it was fortunate that he was around to assist. It would have been difficult, otherwise — or… it sounds like you’re referring to something else?”

Kyouka shrugs, suddenly awkward. “Ah, I mean… just that most girls think he’s pretty attractive — or so I gather, anyway — and he is a really sweet guy.”

“Most girls… but not you?” Momo raises an eyebrow. Eijirou does have a well-taken-care-of physique, now that she’s considering it — had Kyouka never noticed?

“Well, objectively, I guess, sure,” Kyouka says, intently focused on picking at a loose thread on the blanket. “But, um— dudes aren’t really my thing.”

Oh. Oh. “Oh,” she says.

Kyouka pulls her hand away, bringing it up to rub the back of her neck instead. “I’m sorry, uh— sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“No, no!” Momo places a hand on her arm, and Kyouka looks back up at her. “Not at all. I’m not uncomfortable.”

Just… somewhat inexperienced with this sort of thing, but she doesn’t need to bring that up.

“Oh, okay,” Kyouka says, softly. “Okay, that’s good.”

They sit in silence for a while. “I think I will drop that course.” Momo sighs. “Can I borrow your laptop? Or— you might want your room back, so—”

“No, it’s fine.” Kyouka leans over to the desk and looks back at her with a smile. “If I let you out of my sight before you drop it, you might change your mind.”

She quickly logs into the student portal and gets to the final confirmation page before dropping it, hovering the cursor over the button that will finalize her decision.

“What if my parents are disappointed?” she whispers.

“Your parents aren’t the ones taking the course.” Kyouka says, frowning slightly.

She hesitates.

Kyouka touches her arm. “Do you want me to click it for you?”

No. She’s an adult. It doesn’t always feel like it, but she is. She can make her own decisions and follow through with them. “I can do it.”

She clicks. It’s done. No more Business Ethics. No more looming assignment, no more accidentally skipped class. Her shoulders sag in relief.

“You okay?” Kyouka gives her arm a squeeze, and she nods.

“Yes,” she says. She feels better than she has in the last three weeks, at least. She has an hour before her next class starts, too. “Do you want to go out for breakfast?”

The smile Kyouka gives her is small, but genuine. “Sounds great.”

Read the rest of this chapter on Ao3

Read from the beginning

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

Battle #26

The Vindictives: The Many Moods of... ( Side D )

Vs.

The Mary Jane Girls: Only Four You ( Side 1 )

The Vindictives: The Many Moods of... ( Side D )

The Vindictives are probably one of the best and most underrated of the 90s pop punk bands to call Chicago home. They began in 1990, after Joey’s first band, Vicktimz of Society called it quits. Their original lineup included Joey Vindictive (vocals), Johnny Personality (bass), Ben Weasel (of Screeching Weasel fame on guitar), Dr. Bob (guitar), and Erik Elsewhere (drums). The band would quickly experience lineup changes and evolve in complexity as well. The band would end up releasing 12 EPs and albums until July 1996, when Joey Vindictive revealed that his health issues would prevent the band from going on. The band DID continue past that but never at the capacity and intensity it had been previously. The distinction between The Vindictives and other pop punk bands of the same cloth is all in the lyrics. Often sexual or paranoia themes (sometimes both!) took center stage. And those amazing and layered harmonies!! No one did it better than The Vindictives. You got a real sense of the frantic-ness though in the music and the production was outstanding. Every song is catchy and holds your attention, making each song just a little different. Something pop punk is not often known for often, embracing the repetitiveness. So this “album” is really one of their only proper ones but it’s more or less a collection of all the aforementioned EPs. “Future Homemakers of America” Starts the party off right. Meaty and punchy with those dripping snotty vocals. Not perfect and that’s OK. It’s part of the energy, and a real slap across the face of suburbia stay at home housewives everywhere. “Spring Valley Shopping Mall” Tell the tale of what sounds like a really bad date. Literally a story in the form of a song. “1 (900) ILU-VYOU” is a dominatrix tune that features those amazing backing vocal harmonies. You could say they DOMINATE (#seewhatididthere) at it. Next up is “Basketcase”-a quickie punker rocket with driving and screaming leads. It’s better than Green Day’s version. Just kidding, totally different songs, but Green Day does serve as a good comparison for production value and tight melodies. Speaking of tight,

“You Know Who You Are” follows suit and punches you in the face. All while bitting and clawing your eyes out. Wound up like a spring and ready to pounce. As if it couldn’t get any faster, “Impatient” flies at you at breakneck speeds. Vindictives are not usually Minor Threat level fast, but skatepunks be damned, these guys mean business! Thrashing lashes to make you gnash your teeth. Probably one of the best songs on this side, and best examples of how the Vindictives stand out is found in “...And The World Isn’t Flat Anymore”. It’s very catchy and sing along style, but still manages to employ one the band’s favorite tricks, vocals in the round. Joey understands how to make one set bleed into the other and it sounds so amazing. More vocal layers than a 7 layer burrito! His raw and unabashed outlook give that darker edge the band uses to their advantage. Ironically these are probably some of the weaker tunes in their arsenal, so just imagine how awesome Sides A-C are! Brilliant!

The Mary Jane Girls: Only Four You ( Side 1 )

The Mary Jane Girls are an American R&B, soul and funk group that gained popularity in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. Much like Prince had Shiela E and others, Rick James has his girls too. They are known for their hit songs "In My House", "All Night Long", "Candy Man", and their cover version of "Walk Like a Man". Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie was the lead singer, the others filling out the group's style and appearance. According to the wiki, on the studio recordings, McDuffie was backed by session vocalists rather than the other Mary Jane Girls. The album credits the other members as each singing at least one song though. The Mary Jane Girls released two albums in the 1980s and recorded a third which was shelved for decades but finally released in 2014. They were inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2019. You can practically see the marketing plan-o-gram throughout, but you know what? The songs are fairly catchy. I like the 80s and even though it has distinct Motown and funk influence, there is a decent representation of new wave too. Rock actually wrote and produced all the songs too, so he had his hands all over it. Of course we should address the obvious. The name of the group referenced mary jane, slang for marijuana; a favored recreational drug of James. (James wrote a hit song titled "Mary Jane".) The group's image was styled as containing a street-wise girl (McDuffie), a supermodel (Ghant), a cheerleader/valley girl (Wells, then Marine), and a dominatrix (Wuletich). This is their second album and has the biggest hit, which starts off the whole thing. “In My House” has a VERY Rick James start with that keyboard intro, then drop the funky bass. These are 4 ladies that know the 80s. If disco were just watered down new wave, ala Lipps Inc., then I’d be ok with it. That’s pretty much what we have here. “Break it Up” is another funky dance club hit parade. Revolving Supremes-like vocals that keep your interest. The next 30 seconds are an interlude to the song “Shadow Lover” but they bothered to list it as a separate track, so...? It’s a saxophone meets piano warm up really, into the actual action. A slow bedroom jam that might make Luther Vandross jealous. The last track (only 4 you I guess #seewhatididthere ) is next. It’s called “Lonely for You” and the play on the album title is not lost on me. This one is back to the rockin’ beats. Mellow and melody. The underlying keyboard is fantastic on this cut. It’s a new wave version of En Vogue or a disco version on The Supremes. Either way, nice. I hope they didn’t have to do anything freaky to get their deal...(#seewhatididthere)

So today we saw the many moods of The Vindictives in full regalia. They took 16 minutes to burn 101 calories over 7 songs. That is 14.43 calories burned per song and 6.31 calories burned per minute. The Vindictives earned 18 out of 21 possible stars. The Mary Jane Girls did it only four you. They took 19 minutes to burn 116 calories over 4 songs. That’s an average of 29.p calories burned per song and 6.11 calories burned per minute. The MJG earned 8 out of 12 possible stars. Looks like The Vindictives will be in a haploid because they won today’s challenge!

The Vindictives : “You Know Who You Are”

https://youtu.be/RpT7OGsUzWo

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonseven

#Randomrecordworkout