#it doesn't have any specific sound I'm not very. organized? about my playlists

[rotisseries]

r u interested in sharing a link to the 5 hour zelink playlist?

here you go!

[danielpowell]

🎧 for the post s3 dan playlist (maybe coffee & TV by Blur specifically bc that one really Gets me) or anything from the “if there’s anyone out there listening to this, I’m here” playlist? They’re great playlists btw

I'll do the first one ! Since this is my sole ask, I am gonna ramble so hard about this in particular fkadlsjfakl

Coffee and TV is honestly my favorite Blur track and it's 1000% nostalgia factor for me and also the connection to alcoholism (as I am a recovered alcoholic) . If I didn't have my sleeves so meticulously planned, I would get the milk carton tattooed on me,,,

I might be projecting the substance use onto Dan post-s3 as I think it might be difficult for him to get his footing after the events he's endured, but I also think it's just a good comparison for someone struggling with anything, of which I do feel he would struggle realistically. He's been shown to have obsessive and addictive tendencies as well so I think trading one vice for another would be possible for him. There's some lines that touch on social ties which is also is something I think he might struggle with after everything. And also sweet, sweet themes of ever-present capitalism.

Overall, I think it's reasonable for me to have picked it for Dan after he's returned to Earth.

I also like the sound elements of it ! I headcanon him as a guitar player so I like the more acoustic guitar mixed with the electric guitar distortion. The ending with the organ also is very peaceful, and can be seen as lingering effects of Visser with its church-y qualities vaguely alluding to the Choir.

I'm gonna break down some lyrics for ya and how I relate them to him.

Do you feel like a chainstore ? Practically floored

Just (chef's kiss) I am not a big fan of wordplay like puns, but I allow it with lyrics because it's more... poetic to me this way, rather than cheesy.

It has that relation to capitalism that is a heavy theme in Archive 81. It has wordplay which he loves. It has emotional weight of being overwhelmed, which I feel he would be experiencing after having such little human contact for a long time and then getting thrust into busy and crowded New York.

One of many zeros

This is meant to signify he's just another face in the crowd, something of which I think he wants to be, he wants that feeling of normalcy. However, I also take ones and zeros lyrics as relating to code and I relate to his work as an audio engineer and an archivist.

Your ears are full, but you're empty

This relates back to his work as an audio engineer, but also as a music lover, a temporary archivist, and a creatively-blocked novelist- ears full of sound, but feeling empty, incomplete, unfulfilled.

I also can use this as a tangentially related saying to Suit, of which I think he would do his best to keep in his memory.

Holding out your heart To people who never really Care how you are

Oof. Relatable. Especially for Dan, who I honestly feel like he had a disconnect with Tanya since he expresses that she doesn't seem to indulge in his 'audio nerd stuff', but also for a time Jennifer, and for the entire time Rat. We don't get any indication that his family went looking for him either. I sort of headcanon he doesn't have a great relationship with them.

I also like the headcanon that he's become sort of this missing person case that people may have followed and might bug him about, not really caring about him as a person but rather as a spectacle.

So give me coffee and TV Easily

Okay I just want to briefly touch upon this, but I mishear this as 'misery' every single time because they give the 'L' and 'R' quality to it. So I kind of work that into my interpretation of the lyrics as it sounds easy, but it's miserable.

As for the actual lyric, I headcanon him as a coffee drinker and it works really well since caffeine is a drug and is kind of normalized in our society as an acceptable addiction. I think Dan might lean into this after he gets home. I also see him watching a lot more television so he can catch up on news and pop culture. He's been gone for a while- he'd want to be more in touch with his current reality.

And hey, it's entertainment and he needs a good distraction as well.

I've seen so much, I'm going blind And I'm brain-dead, virtually

Okay, firstly I'm relating this to the traumatic stuff he's witnessed. Secondly, I'm relating this to his post-surgery body. I headcanon that even if he 'appears normal' again, he still has lingering effects. I'm giving him visual impairment, I'm giving him chronic pain, I'm giving him hearing loss, and I'm giving him fatigue. And without any audio equipment embedded in him, I imagine he would be 'brain-dead virtually' now.

Sociability It's hard enough for me

(gestures) Pretty self-explanatory. He's socially awkward. His new-found paranoia and PTSD is not doing any favors in that regard.

Take me away from this big bad world And agree to marry me So we can start over again

Obviously the 'big bad world' is the City, but I also think it works for him being afraid of the outside world, not knowing who to trust yet. Marry can be seen as 'marrying his two worlds' thanks to him reconnecting with Jennifer and Mark, but I'm also totally being indulgent and making this related to DanMitch adfkjasdlk

Do you go to the country? It isn't very far There's people there who will hurt you Because of who you are

Okay, this is British slang shit akjfdssaf but hey, maybe some Lou is lingering, eh?

I still like it as him being wary of his inner circle of friends. He did get upset with Mark for possibly leaking his location. I think he still might hold some caution afterwards.

Nick has also expressed that he would have problems with Dan if he ever interfered...

Until the words start slurring And you can't find the door

I am interpreting this as the portal, but it can also be a callback to his first introduction to Clara and Lou.

The rest is just repeats of previous lyrics, but I think the 'start over again' line being repeated can be seen as him trying to reassure himself, reassure himself that he's started over again and things will peaceful again for him.

Send me a 🎧 + a playlist/track from my Archive 81 master post and I'll dissect my reasoning for its choice