#no but like questions such as 'a song by an artist whose voice you love' like isn't the answer every single artist you listen to???

[tripably]

So I saw something like this on instagram and I wanted to participate, except I've psyched myself out of ever posting anything over there and also a month-long challenge is too much of a commitment plus I wanted to make edits to some of the questions so here we go!

~ A song with a colour in the title: Tummansininen seuralainen by J. Karjalainen ~ A song with a food in the title: Chop Suey! by System Of A Down ~ A song with a number in the title: 22 by Lily Allen ~ A song with a person's name in the title: Coraline by Måneskin ~ A song you remember from your childhood: Rööperiin by Jormas ~ A song from your teen years: She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5 ~ A song that you never get tired of: Lokin päällä lokki by Apulanta ~ A song to drive to: Kissavideoita by VilleGalle ~ A song you'd sing with someone on karaoke: Kukka by Uniklubi ~ A song that reminds you of summertime: Kesäyö by Pariisin Kevät ~ A song that needs to be played loud: Mary On A Cross by Ghost ~ A song that makes you want to dance: The Big Fellah by Black 47 ~ A cover song you like better than the original: Huuliharppu by ABREU ~ A song from the 70s: Starman by David Bowie ~ A classic favourite: Rebel Yell by Billy Idol ~ A song by a band you wish were still together: Pistoolisankari by Dingo ~ A song by an artist no longer living: Musta aurinko nousee by Juice Leskinen ~ A song you had/would love to be played at your wedding or such: Nothing Else Matters by Metallica ~ A song that reminds you of someone: Frida by BEHM ~ A song that makes you want to fall in love: In Joy And Sorrow by HIM ~ A song that has many meanings to you: Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys ~ A song that makes you happy: Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas ~ A song that makes you sad: Vielä täällä by Jesse Kaikuranta ~ A song that breaks your heart: Te amo by Rihanna ~ A song that reminds you of yourself: The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel

I'm not tagging anyone, this time, but I'm strongly encouraging anyone who sees this to join me in obsessing over music choices, and also editing and/or removing and/or adding new questions to the list, whichever way strikes your fancy<3

[sitpwgs]

“In light of everything that’s happened in the past three months alone, here’s some incredibly valid reasons to be pissed off at Taylor Swift, or simply not like her — as someone who loved her, and loved her music. First and foremost, Taylor Swift is personally burning a hole through the ozone with the amount of CO2 she uses. That’s not even the main point of this video; but this is a graph from 2022 of how much CO2 she produced of her 170 private jet flights, versus the average person. She has spent 70 grand on jet fuel alone. Taylor Swift, alone has used 170 tons of CO2 in the past 3 months. The average person only burns like, 16 tons. That’s not even the main part of this video. The main point of the video is the fact that she has not spoken up about Palestine. And the reason that is so fundamentally frustrating is that Taylor Swift has influence. Quote Brittany Broski, when she also didn’t speak up about Palestine — “if you have a platform, and you have people listening, you have to use it.” It’s criminal to not use it, and Taylor Swift uses it. This is from September 2023. Record-breaking registration numbers from one Instagram post. Literally stating, saying “I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!” They had a 72(%) increase in 18-year-old registrations. When it comes to Palestine, she’s completely silent. And now that it’s somewhat more socially acceptable to attend Pro-Palestine events, she’s been quietly going with Selena Gomez, but I for one, think that your Instagram is perhaps the best asset you have. If not, money. And I’m sure in a couple months, we’ll learn about how Taylor Swift was quietly setting up foundations for pro-Palestine, and that she was always for the cause and she’s always supported them, but all it takes is one fucking Instagram post. Especially when Israel Palestine is fundamentally a war of narratives. It’s whose story do you believe, despite the mounting evidence that proves that Israel has continuously been doing ethnic cleansing and genocide. They are still maintaining this narrative that they are not doing that. And all Taylor Swift has to do is say “hey, 22 thousand deaths in 3 months? The most in any modern war? This doesn’t seem right.” I don’t even want her to be that leftist or radical, but literally just to ask the question to her largely American audience, when US has bypassed Congress twice to sell millions in arms aid to Israel.  Just for her to be like “Should that many kids be dying, perhaps?” The bar is on the floor, but she still refuses to do it. And the reason why Taylor Swift in particular, not because of the influence that she has and not because of the platform that she has, but why her in particular, is because the IDF continues to use her songs. I know it was a public trend, but the fact that so many occupation forces felt comfortable and confident  to make like, dance edits to Taylor Swift’s music. I think it’s so important how an artist’s music is used because when the republicans wanted to use Eminem’s 8 mile track, he was like “absolutely fucking not, I do not give you consent to do that, and I do not associate with your politics. Don’t do that.” I feel like she should know that her music is being used as the anthem of the occupation forces as they go and bomb civilians. Her, and other artists like her, like Beyonce, who showed her film in Israel, and they’re all like dancing and singing, and saying “you’re not going to break my soul”, whilst they continue to bomb the shit out of civilians have said nothing. And I hope, as I’ve demonstrated in the video, for the people who are going to be like “What’s Taylor swift going to do? She’s not a politician.” Be serious. Be serious. She has a fucking chokehold on at least a billion people. She could’ve said and done way more than what she’s done, and also the CO2 levels." (from: this tiktok*)

* i tried to transcribe the tiktok since tiktok wasn't showing the captions for me but if i misheard anything please let me know!

[shadamyheadcanons]

What songs do you think that fits Amy and Shadow?

My knowledge about Shadow is only a few so I'm not sure about him

For Amy, it will be Happy Synthesizer and Ikanaide/Don't Go and various bubbly and lively songs

Combining these two for convenience.

First one - I’m glad you asked!

Love your ideas, especially Ikanaide. It sounds pretty upbeat at first, but then you pay attention to the lyrics, and...ouch. Feeling left behind and trying to pretend she’s okay with it? Yeah. That’s Amy. Here’s a link I found for an English version.

And here’s one for Happy Synthesizer.

As for which songs I associate with them, my Song & Dance tag covers the topic pretty well, especially this post.

Given how often I think about these two, though, I’m always finding more examples. There’s one song that I feel fits Amy better than any other. I wrote a headcanon about it on January 7th, 2022. I correctly predicted in that headcanon that a bunch of Amy-related stuff would happen that year--right down to her getting a new theme song, even!

I still think my song idea works better than the one in the Frontiers DLC, though. That one feels kind of bland to me. Yeah, she trusts her cards, but she’s supposed to be a go-getter! She reads the cards and then blazes her own destiny using them as a guide. Her mild Frontiers theme gives off the vibe of someone who’s letting fate happen to them, not the other way around. Amy is kind, but she’s not passive.

Laineybug04 correctly pointed out in this post that “House of Gold” by Atreyu fits Shadamy quite well, and I included “Wait for You” in In a Pinch, but it doesn’t stop there. The more I listen to Atreyu, the more I hear Shadamy, and I’m glad you gave me an excuse to point it out! “House of Gold,” “Wait for You,” “Terrified,” “Super Hero”...and “I Would Kill/Lie/Die for You” is pretty much spot-on for Shadow’s brand of dedication. It’s more romantic than the title makes it sound, haha.

They’re not all necessarily romantic in nature, but it’s very easy to imagine Shadow singing them about Amy.

I want to call special attention to “Stronger Than Me,” though.

The speaker starts by showing insecurity.

Yup.

He fears opening up and showing his entire self because he thinks others will be scared by what they see.

Yup.

He admits connecting with him might be complicated sometimes, but he remains steadfast because the relationship is important to him.

And, uh...this is from the chorus:

“When I was lost, You were always there, my guiding light, You are my ward, my compass ROSE, my lighthouse in the night”

Do I even need to explain? She’s one comma away from being name-dropped. The song’s title fits perfectly, too. It takes a lot of strength to always look for the best in people and put your faith in the goodness of others. It’s so easy to give up. Shadow would legitimately admire her for it. She deserves to know how special she is for that, and who better to tell her than someone whose entire life was changed by that strength and kindness?

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the song and lyrics. Trust me, you’ll need the lyrics sheet.

Second ask:

Yes, absolutely! I think of him as liking modern rock and metal, and also jazz because it would’ve been all the rage when he was made. I’ve mentioned this before, but if I had to pick one band to be his favorite, I’d say Nine Inch Nails. It’s heavy, intense, angsty, and complex, and it has some of the same electronic, bass-centered vibes as Shadow’s earlier themes. Compare NIN songs like Discipline and The Perfect Drug with Rhythm and Balance (White Jungle’s theme) and Shadow’s original character theme, Throw it all Away, both by Everett Bradley. Trent Reznor also has a deep voice like Shadow and Bradley do. NIN could do a mean cover of Throw it all Away, now that I think about it...

I don’t think it’s the best idea for canon, even the questionably-canon Twitter Takeover, to cite real people/artists. It’s fine for fans like us to do it, but the official franchise is different. Humans are flawed and complicated. When you start including real people, you could potentially do something awkward like, say...connect your series built on environmentalism with someone who uses a private jet.

Y’know. Hypothetically.

That’s why I love what the social media team did with Hot Honey in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. A fictional band doesn’t carry that risk, and they’re seamless within the Sonic universe. Fans like us can’t get caught on whether or not Shadow would enjoy their music because none of us can actually hear them.

Funnily enough, your ask aligns perfectly with what makes Hot Honey so cute for these two. Shadow canonically doesn’t like Hot Honey at all:

No questions asked, no headcanons needed.

The reason he agreed to go was entirely, 100% because Amy asked him to. I think that’s far sweeter than the Taylor Swift thing. And I’ll be able to prove that when I finish writing Sweeter Than Honey. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about it!

No offense to anyone who does enjoy Taylor Swift’s music, of course. Different strokes for different folks. :)

[rebelwheelsnycpoetry]

Regina Regina In Zionist Blue (a poem for Palestine)

by Michele Sommerstein

Pt 1 It's been months since I could hear your music, and not feel this sorrowed discomfort deeply rooted Regina Regina in Zionist blue for I used to play your tunes in times of need and joy but a comfort, no more for your voice and piano, these summers in the city these fields below these blue lips and dance anthems Pavlov's daughter drooling on her pillow and do you remember that time you covered a Lennon song in protest of the Darfur genocide all that real love real love because genocide is fucked up and it is and it was but now, all these songs are just a reminder (this pain, sometimes so angry that one longs to cry out stop! and why!) and with a sigh so heavy like a storm wind that fucks with the tides with a sigh so heavy from a heart that breaks because it doesn't have to be this way Regina in blue, there is another way

and yet I know we are not getting the same news and how there can never be peace when there is justice due and how some Zionists in power don't want that to ensue and how they lied to us and are lying to you gives me deeply rooted Zionist blues this anti-Zionist Jew and rising “not in our name!” and with great pride chanting for we exist too and we are many we who unlearned the toxicity that resides in Zionism who unlearned the fallacies, now knowing the truth

and this genocide, that they attempt to normalize, makes my head, cave in To the point sometimes where I don't know what the fuck to do… Regina Regina, in Zionist blue the 34,000 murdered and counting these artists, these doctors, these Palestinians these people undeserving of this violence & death he was my father - dead my cousin - dead my best friend - dead, the love of my life… my wife – dead (how do you not care? where is your heart?) and 12,000 of them just children, small children who are no longer here Regina how many more? who Israel is starving. Intentional. This famine, engineered these deaths avoidable these parents forced to witness their child's demise, children abruptly orphaned and the trauma in their eyes the fucking grief are you not a mother too?

Pt 2 and I'm not saying what happened on October 7th wasn't traumatic and fucked up because it was and I imagine was quite triggering for survivors of violence of which I am one and I imagine was quite triggering for a people who have been told since birth to not trust, to not relax. beware the non-Zionists and watch your back. “They don't want you to be safe, they don't want us to be free” (but at whose cost and what does that mean?)

and then came the day Hamas striked back and though we don't agree, I can acknowledge that the trauma and humanity of Israelis at the event in question in a quiet stillness, to stop and be present, but can you too acknowledge the humanity and trauma of those in Palestine? And not just this genocide unjustified, but for the last 75, years and counting Regina for while yes, the festival, themed as “love and unity”, Regina but on the borders of and for whom?

Pt 3 did you even learn about The Nakba, did you ever hear that word? More than three fourth of a million people, three fourth these Palestinians forced from their land, their homes, why did they not teach that in Hebrew school all those years ago not even mention Palestine, and so we never knew why did they not want us to know? why do they hide things from us, Regina? and what else do they not disclose?

and the modern footage and what it exposed these Palestinians who they try to control who could not even wave their own flag without vast persecution felt weirdly familiar remembering my grandmother paternal who lived in Russia who could not be openly Jewish without vast persecution how could I not see the similarities why don't you?

These powers that be that poke the wound, this trauma that they don't let nor want us to heal and with the fucking audacity, so brazen to look us in the eyes, to call this protection and love

But with all their propaganda, have you ever stopped to question? where is this promised safety that they have repeatedly mentioned? this unrealistic and false promise and obsession for it is impossible to achieve safety through oppression for it is impossible, to achieve safety through oppression it is impossible, to achieve safety, through oppression For consequence will always ensue as a result from these intentions

Pt 4 And I am so fucking tired tired of trying to shadow box any and all possible critique tired of trying to reach those that perhaps can not be reached those who do not see the human rights violations because they don't see Palestinians as humans those who deny their humanity, but then expect them to always honor theirs those who say Israel has the right to defend themselves but Palestine should just take it those who respond to protesters, these Zionist agitators with pepper spray unprovoked those who skirt accountability saying “yeah but what about” in response to this genocide those who accuse you of being antisemitic for even bringing up this genocide as if acknowledging genocide is antisemitic – it is not never again means never again for all those with their boom boom rapid fire rehearsed bad faith questions in an attempt to bewilder & overwhelm, in hopes that next time you'll be silent those who respond IN ALL CAPS, yelling vicious insults and intimidation screaming, in hopes that that next time you'll be silent do not be silent

and those who genuinely feel immense terror because they believe there is no safety without Zionism near for it is hard to see clearly when in a triggered space Help me officer, for I do not feel safe! She said after seeing the protesters peacefully protest

Regina Regina, with Zionist fists will probably not know this poem exists in ways I am just getting this off my chest A quest of catharsis and healing, so I may be lighter, mindful in my solidarity as an act of love put to action For if one does not do the work, to process the weight so heavy, these feelings this urgency & this compassion overload & burnout, overgrown & all-consuming and your actions unaware, become, far too motivated, by the need for your own release which isn't helpful to the movement, nor what Palestinians need

Pt 5 and so, safety, actual safety it is not rooted in imperialism or isolation It is all the people marginalized united and knowing that our liberation, our struggles, growing and connected and this idea that we must fight each other is wrong for it's the powers that be, not us, that benefit when we're divided those who attempt to thwart any semblance of progress when they see we're making strides and those who preach and fan the flames of fear and ignorance and it's on both sides, both sides, these elephants and donkeys co-opted for a price those who try to erase and decrease, the growing existence and resistance of non-Zionist Jews those who do not actually care about the safety of Palestinians or Jews, though they swear their loyalty true, they lie, white-toothed and smiling Those who don't want to make things right for this that goes against their profit line these vultures who profit from genocide with their overflowing greed insatiable they who want to keep us from the light so we do not grow so they can maintain this status quo, of wretched supremacy it is them we must fight, they are the enemy Not each other

AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Regina Regina In Zionist Blue" is a passionate nuanced poem written from the heart. A tale of two Jews, it is a call to action & reflection in a time of misinformation, exploitation of trauma, and genocide. A poem from an anti-Zionist Jew (myself) to a Zionist Jew (but really all Zionist Jews.)

I used to love Regina Spektor 's music. Her songs were one of my go-to's in good times and bad. But when she came out as a hardcore Zionist after the attack, her songs became this reminder of genocide and a symbol of every interaction I've ever had with Zionists. To be clear, I don't fault people for having strong feelings regarding the attack on October 7th. But to only have compassion for Israelis and nothing but viciousness for Palestinians, I feel is fucked up. Especially given the history and the current genocide.

For weeks, these heavy feelings were building up inside me, and then once I heard Macklemore's "Hind's Hall", it had to come out. I had to write this poem.

The poem delves into the history, trauma, toxicity, ideas of safety, solidarity, and more. My hope is that it will make some people think and re-think what they've been brought up with, and take action.

That said, “summers in the city”, “fields below”, ”blue lips”, “dance anthems” and “pavlov's daughter” are references to her song titles if anyone was a bit confused.

Lastly, here are 3 ways to take action from Jewish Voices For Peace.

[nonclassyparty]

[TEASER] Starring Role - ACT XI (C.S; S.MG)

title; tell me your secrets and ask me your questions, oh, let's go back to the start, running in circles, coming up tails, heads on a science apart

summary:

We’ve all read about the infamous player who falls in love with the good girl that manages to make him change his ways…but what happens to the other girl? The pretty, popular one that has warmed his bed before the good girl came along and took him away.

Well, no one cares about her. After all, she’s just a side character.

It almost feels like a joke to play a part, when you are not the starring role in someone else’s heart.

pairing: choi san x reader, song mingi x reader

act x / masterlist / act xi (final)

It's hard not to stare.

The conversation that goes around the table during the appetizers is vapid, the two businessmen are taking subtle jabs at each other's expenses, their bored wives are not so subtly ogling the two waiters that are assigned to your table and the younger men sitting at your table (him included). Shallow conversations served with the only purpose of showing off who has more of what and so on and so on.

Two years ago, this was your territory. The exaggerated delight when speaking about vacations you've been to, talking up your family like you don't all hate each other one way or another and pretending you actually enjoy the presence of your company. Now, you feel awfully out of place.

The times when you were at the top of the food chain are long gone because at this table right here; you are the lowest rank. The weakest player. The artist invited for their amusement because they don't take you seriously, not really. 

You learn pretty quickly into the night that you were never brought here from your boss' good grace to help you sell your art, it's for her to be able to show off the new addition to her company even if it is temporary (after this, you know it will be). Look at this new shiny, pretty little thing I have everyone. Isn't she just the cutest?

That's why it's hard not to stare.

Choi San sits opposite of you, just a couple of seats down and looks like he's completely in his element and it's mindboggling because you don't think you've ever seen him like this.

You always found him charming, good looks paired with pretty words and a smooth voice but here...it's a completely different game. The other two younger guys whose names you didn't bother to remember, seem to wait for his every word with a bated breath, the men laugh at his jokes and the women swoon at the charming grin. He is charismatic and everybody seems to be under his spell. Even you find yourself pressing your lips together to stop from smiling at an occasional quip that comes from him.

It's infuriating.

You're the outsider despite growing up in these people's circles and running around fancy restaurants since you were a toddler but Choi San...well, he fit right in.

You don't miss the way he smiles that godforsaken smile at the wife of one of the younger businessmen here. She's gorgeous and on the younger side which isn't surprising since her husband seems barely forty. She seems to be in her mid-30s though and tries to hide her flustered smile by taking a sip of the red wine in front of her.

A breathless chuckle escapes you as your eyes fall from the obvious (and fucking shameless) flirting done by both of them all while her husband is sitting right next to her but is too busy to notice because he's currently in a dick measuring contest with the others.

All that time that San spent making jabs at your wealth and the rich people you were surrounded with, only for him to land in the middle of that same table that he judged you for not even two years later.

A fucking comedy is what this is.

"I need some fresh air." You mumble to particularly no-one but one of the younger guys that seem to have come here with San and has also been laying it on pretty thick to you the entire night, is the only one to notice. When he offers to go with you, you're quick to decline.

The terrace of the restaurant is gorgeous and you feel yourself sigh once you're presented with the wide view of the city in front of you and the cool evening air enveloping you. You figure you still have some time before the main course and it's almost tempting to just spend it all here.

Your heart can't stop rattling in your chest despite it being almost an hour and a half since the short introduction between you and San and you grip the banister tightly with your hands as you try to keep your thoughts in check.

It's not even a big deal that he's here. The introduction was the only exchange between the two of you and so far, the night has been going well. It will be a bust business wise but at least you will get a free fancy meal out of it.

And San...he was acting normal. Whatever the new normal was for him. So yeah, it's not even a big deal that he's here.

"So we have to introduce ourselves to each other?" A voice quietly says and you freeze at the sound of footsteps until he's standing by your side and his elbow is brushing yours. "Is that what we are now, Y/N? Strangers?"

He's here. And it's a big fucking deal.

You're gripping the banister so tightly that your knuckles turn white but with the utmost grace, you utter; "I don't see what else we could be."

"That's..." He starts before giving you a nod, "Fair."

He pulls something from the pocket of his slacks and you don't give into the curiosity to check what it is until he leans over to you.

An opened pack of cigarettes is presented to you and you glance at it for a second in contemplation before sighing and reluctantly pulling one out before placing it between your lips. After the night you've had, might as well.

He's quick to offer you a light and you take a drag in and exhale as you turn to mirror his position so your back is leaning on the banister and you're observing the people inside the restaurant rather the view.

San takes a cigarette out for himself, lighting it up in similar fashion as he did for you and takes a drag, exhaling with a soft sigh.

"How have you been?"

You scoff out a short, barely there laugh, "What do you want?"

San's head turns to observe you and you will yourself to just keep staring forward.

"Nothing." He responds quietly and you roll your eyes. "I don't want anything. I'm just...just trying to make conversation."

A silence engulfs you as you both take a couple of drags from the cigarettes and watch it get turned into ashes. You watch your figures in the glass in front of you and can notice him glancing at you one too many times.

"Listen, I'm-"

"I don't want your sorry's." You're quick to interrupt him but he's quick to reply back.

"I wasn't gonna say I'm sorry." Your head whips to him for the first time, brows furrowed in insult. He sighs, eyes falling shut for a moment before the flutter open again and meet yours, "Well, okay, you got me there. There is something I was going to say I'm sorry for."

Your frown doesn't move but you don't say anything otherwise so he takes it as a chance to continue. "You told me something in confidence and I-..."

"San." You warn him and uttering his name out loud causes a shiver to run up your spine.

"No. And I couldn't keep my mouth shut because I'm an idiot that let my frustrations get the best of me. And I'm sorry, Y/N, it was a shitty thing to do and you didn't deserve that." He takes a deep breath, "I never promised you much, we both knew what it was between us from the start but I did promise to keep your secrets safe and I failed at that. I know an apology might not mean shit now and I'm not saying it because I expect forgiveness but because you deserve an apology. I'm really sorry."

You stare up at him, chest heaving up and down as you watch him. He's right, you're not going to forgive him...so what now? What do you do and what do you say?

"Kind of weird to apologize here of all places." You comment stoically.

"Don't know when I'll see you again." San says back in almost a whisper.

Almost angrily, at yourself and at him, you take another drag from the cigarette before your eyes fall back on your table inside the restaurant. The woman San was subtly flirting with is laughing with her husband now.

You respond back in the only way you know how when it comes to talking to San. Women.

"You've moved on from unsuspecting college girls to older women now?" You ask, flicking your cigarette and taking another drag.

At the look of confusion he gives you, you nudge your head to the direction of the table you both have shared for the majority of the night. He follows your gaze and the realization sets in.

"Oh," He chuckles, one dimple showing as he glances at you. "She's cute."

"She's also married." You grit out quietly, quickly looking around to make sure no-one else hears.

San's brows furrow and his lips are pressed to stop himself from smiling as he leans over to you as if to let you in on a little secret, "Not happily married."

You scoff, rolling your eyes dramatically as you look away from him. He chuckles again.

"It's them who make the first move, never me." San clarifies, smile dimming, "I may be a lot of things but not a homewrecker."

"That is still being a homewrecker, San."

"That home has been wrecked a long time ago, princess."

You shake your head, keeping your judgement to yourself but the curiosity is still there.

What has Choi San been up to these past two years? While you were in Paris shutting yourself off from anyone and everything to focus on your art, what was he doing?

"Them who make the first move?" You repeat in disbelief, turning to him again and you place your done cigarette in the ashtray before crossing your arms and now the judgement is very obvious, "Don't tell me you're one of those guys who's chasing after older women now."

San presses his lips together.

"Seriously? You are such a fuckin’ cliché, couldn’t you find some co-workers to sleep with?"

His brow quirks up in thought, "Hm, funnily enough I don't think I've ever slept with a co-worker." You shake your head at him again, having no idea how he just says that so...shamelessly and are about to open your mouth to scold him but he continues deep in thought, "Does a boss' wife count as a co-worker?"

Your jaw drops at the genuine question and you have to turn your head to the side just so he won't notice the fact that you're holding back laughter, still a snort escapes you. "Jesus."

At that, San lets out a short, husky laugh as well, seemingly unbothered as he takes another drag from his cigarette.

Same old San.

There is still so much left unsaid between the two of you. So much pain and anger, pure rage, so much sadness that is kept bottled away and so many memories repressed but in that moment...well, you are fucking nosy! Sue you!

"You slept with your boss' wife?!" You whisper yell at him with wide eyes, horrified yet equally amused and if that makes you a horrible person then so be it.

"She-" He tries to explain but you're already shaking your head in judgement, "No, hey, listen listen. She came onto me-"

"And you just couldn't resist, could you?"

His brows furrow in defense, "Hey, my boss is a dick."

You both fall into a silence after that, a summer breeze coasting over and you watch the guy who's been flirting with you the entire night stand up and step away from the table.

"You know that guy?" You ask San, nodding towards the tall figure walking away.

"Jaehyun?" He asks confusedly and at your nod, "We work together. Why?"

"Can you tell him to lay off? He keeps mentioning drinks at some bar after this and I'm not interested."

San frowns, jaw clenching, "He made you uncomfortable?"

You snort, "Please, he's harmless but I'm just not interested."

"Okay, I'll let him know." He nods before turning around, hands finally free of the cigarette and placed on the banister. He glances at you again after a moment of silence. "So...are you seeing...anyone?"

You tense a little at that. "Yeah."

His gaze is glued to the side of your face.

"Good." San nods, "That's good."

You shrug, not really wanting to talk about it. Not because it's San but because...you just don't want to think about your relationship with Mingi right now despite it being at the forefront of your mind at all times.

Noticing the waiters start walking to your tables with trays of food, you straighten out as well. "Looks like the food is here."

San looks over his shoulder with raised eyebrows and reluctantly straightens out his posture, as if he's not ready to go back inside. Hm. It's seems like San wasn't exactly in his element as you thought back there, just a really good actor.

You're the first to move towards the glass door but he's quick to stop you.

"Uh," A hand wraps around your elbow and you turn to him in confusion, freeing yourself from his gentle hold. San clears his throat before handing you a small white card. "Here. Have it...for, I don't know...Just in case."

You stare at the business card, a fancy name of a firm that you'd probably know if you were in his field, printed at the top with San's contact info below. You don’t know what it means, him giving you the card, so you accept it at a surface level for what it is.

With a nod, you simply take the card and tuck it into your handbag.

San motions for you to go first, holding the door open for you and you walk pass him without a word.

The moment you both shared outside, is seemingly broken the second you both join the same table again.

[justaboymadeofhoneyandglass]

hey!!

so, i was just curious. um. this may sound dumb. but. how did u know u have synesthesia? do u get synesthesia only when u hear things? i'm just curious. not to come off as ignorant tho.

also: are u an artist?

one more thing: which is ur fav view, like with synesthesia?

also: this is stupid: were u born with it?

um also: what do u see when u hear ur name?

also: is ur condition annoying to u? does it create hurdles in ur day-to-day activities?? like when u study, can't u listen to music cuz u see shapes and stuff? which distracts u?

um one last thing: ur follower event looks really different from everyone else's i've seen, looks real cool. um kudos to that i guess.

um thanks for answering! (if u choose not to, it's fine, these are ridiculous questions even i know)

Hii! Dw about asking so many questions I love talking about my synesthesia, and you're not coming off as ignorant, it's not smth that a lot of ppl know a lot about so dw

My main clue was when I started telling people what colour they were to me and they went what the fuck do you mean by that and I juts thought oh so that's not a thing for everybody? Cool I guess. that was about two years ago and since than I've figured out so so so much stuff about this haha

Yup i would say I am, im not the best at realistic drawing but my brain has too many ideas to not do some off them, I usually draw very abstract because that's how my synesthesia works, but I also sometimes do scenery mixed with it because my brain is rlly rlly associative, like it associates everything with everything so that's what I draw hehe

I'm also a poet and a writer, although the only stories I actually write nowadays are fanfictions 😅, I do write a lot of poetry still, mostly to deal with life or express my love for things or ppl *cough* @aesthetic-writer18 *cough*

My fav view? Bit confused by the question haha /lh if this means like favourite colour associated with smth I could not decide for the life of me haha

I really like the colours of some songs,

This one the most rn I think!

Yup I was born with it! It's a neurodiversity, so you can't have it and not be born with it. some people think they have synesthesia because they have like 5 or 6 associations, there's not rlly a rule for how much it needs to be but I think those ppl are bullshit, cus most ppl have some sorts of taught associations that are not synesthesia lol

my name for me is kinda light brown with yellow and red! Well my chosen name is, my deadname is light pink with red in it lol

I usually don't rlly associate a lot of stuff with myself or things about myself but the name James I took form James potter so that influences how I see it lol

Hmm, I wouldn't say it annoys me, but it does create some difficulties:

Some people I dislike don't have colours at all, or they have a rlly annoying or ugly colour, I know a girl whose voice is the most skin crawling shade of purple ish red it's so fucking annoying I can't stand to be around her

the music thing does happen, I usually try to listen to music that doesn't trigger my synesthesia a lot (which limits the possibilities a lot) and also doesn't trigger my maladaptive daydreaming but that's a whole other thing

One thing about my synesthesia is that when I think too much about it or concentrate on the associations too much I get a rlly bad headache which sucks lol

Thanks a lot! It's largely based on my synesthesia hehe I rlly like it!!

Thanks for the askkk!

[saivii]

for the music ask thing: 5, 9, 11, n 28!!! :D

thanks for sending me these, i was hoping to answer a lot of the music ask questions!! 😁 also topic but i’ve noticed that you often like and support the stuff i draw/write and i appreciate that so much! ❤️ anyways here are my answers! hopefully you’re prepared for a lot of rambling on my part shfksksjc

5. “just like a pill” by p!nk always makes me wanna turn up the volume and sing loudly. now i’m thinking about songs that i wanna turn up loud to sing to versus to dance to…like i wanna sing loudly to “he wasn’t man enough for me” by toni braxton, “beautiful liar” by beyonce and shakira, and “i will survive” by gloria gaynor and i wanna dance to “gimme more” by britney spears, “bootylicious” by destiny’s child, “single ladies (put a ring on it)” by beyonce, and “spice up your life” or “wannabe” by the spice girls lol. oh man and “u can’t touch this” by mc hammer, “it’s tricky” by run dmc, and “hey ya” by outkast are songs i would want to sing AND dance to

9. “thank you for the music” and “honey honey” by abba both make me happy. “the great escape” by boys like girls also is nostalgic and makes me happy whenever i hear it

11. “dreamgirl” by dave matthews band. my parents met at a dave matthews band concert so i’ve grown up listening to a lot of their songs and they’re nostalgic to me, and this one is one of my favorites. “free fallin” by tom petty is another one that’s nostalgic for me and it moves me every time i listen to it. the lyrics “i wanna write her name in the sky/i’m gonna free fall out into nothin'/gonna leave this world for a while” just gets me in the feels for some reason idk

28. ohhh man there’s so many artists whose voice i love so there’s no way i can pick just one lol…i love whitney houston, celine dion, beyonce, mariah carey, ariana grande, adele, lady gaga, adele dazeem  idina menzel, and selena, to name a few. for the songs…again, i can’t pick just one but i love “i will always love you” by whitney houston, “it’s all coming back to me now” by celine dion, “listen” and “i care” by beyoncé, “honeymoon avenue” by ariana grande, and “defying gravity” by idina menzel. omg also “macarthur park” by donna summer and “lovin you” by minnie riperton. and lauryn hill’s voice in “killing me softly with his song” (by fugees) 

so yeah i'm very normal about music shgksjfkls

list of questions:

[fromaliminalspace]

1-5, 14, 21 for the year end asks :3

hi, thank you so much for asking, really!! and apologizes in advance for such long answers, as you can see, i'm just being “a bit” indecisive, hopefully I won't bore you too much with it!

1. Song of the year?

(for real, why such a seemingly simple question turned out to be the most difficult one. it's impossible to choose just one!)

czxcohjkhv okay, the first to come to mind is "Stargazer" by Rainbow, so gonna go with it. the drum intro, the sheer onomatopoeia that Ronnie's vocal approach always is, the astonishing guitar solo that practically spoilers the plot by being so evocative as well, the fucking intensity that this song is overflowing with??? I can never be normal about it, just can't. about their “Catch the Rainbow” (live 1977 Munich version specifically) neither. most ethereal ballad ever (and nope, Blackmore's solos don't even ruin the “balladiness” of it, just add to the vibe).

out of Black Sabbath's songs, i'm very much torn between Children of the Sea, Die Young, The Sign of the Southern Cross, After All (The Dead), Time Machine, Sins of the Father. and out of Dio's own stuff — Like the Beat of a Heart, My Eyes, Evil on Queen Street, Evilution, As Long As It's Not About Love, Shame on the Night. hhhng they're all too good, how am I supposed to choose anything, even one per band.

when it comes to music that doesn't have anything to do with RJD (yeah, I have been listening to it this year. sometimes), I still can't get enough of Queensrÿche's “Take Hold of the Flame” (especially live in Tokyo 1984). *in loud whisper* but also “The Story of One Sky” by Dimash, “Until It Sleeps” by Metallica (whoops accidentally became obsessed with it years after first hearing it), “Incense and Myrrh” by Arch/Matheos, and “Between Two Worlds” by Uriah Heep. (can you tell how tricky it is to choose just one..?) and out of this actual year's releases (but tbh I haven't really been keeping up) most memorable was Liliac's “Carousel” or Metallica's “Screaming Suicide”.

and the most satisfying one to play on guitar is definitely “the Last in Line”, it's a literal dopamine feast for my brain for some reason.

2. Album of the year?

have admittedly been listening more to live performances than to studio recordings this year so it'd be easier to just list specific concerts but gonna try pick a latter one after all. actually I think the album i've most often listened to from start to finish is “Lock up the Wolves”, it just flows very nicely in its entirety. the second place would likely be the masterpiece that is “Heaven and Hell”. as for the album that's made me spin it in my head most intensely it's “Magica” bc it's a concept one but in the least straightforward manner possible.

3. Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

my most prominent discovery of the year was probably Fates Warning (and their more modern incarnation Arch/Matheos), I believe. or Jethro Tull (and nope, I legit haven't even heard about them until recently, what of it).

but there's also a musician who's basically defined this year for me and whose voice i've been listening to almost daily (and who probably needs no introduction at this point). I have by no means only started listening to him this year though (c'mon, Blind Guardian cover of “Don't Talk to Strangers” was literally one of the very first songs to get me into metal in the first place; and my most favorite Sabbath song, back when I didn't give a damn about different lineups and was just vibing to the songs I liked most regardless of their albums, was from the Dio era). the difference is that only last December I first heard a live recording of his voice and was overwhelmed by the unparalleled level of intensity in it. bc ultimately his magic is so much more than just his voice, it's the laser-pointed intention behind every single word and the multi-layered thought-provoking lyrics and the everything hiding between the lines and the neverending love and generosity. it's not even sth easily convertible into words so i'd probably better stop being insufferable about him right here and now but the point is that Ronnie has had such a huge impact on my life that goes beyond anything that I ever thought any musician or even just anyone who i've never technically gotten to meet would be capable of having. but this impact has in fact helped heal sth very deep down so just... yeah.

4. Movie of the year?

i'll probably go with “predestination” (2014). there's just sth very intricate in all the levels of meaning in that movie, and especially in the way the main character is queer and their queerness is used of all things as a metaphor for quite a lot of interesting stuff. ngl I do have some issues with this movie but honestly considering that the short story it's based on was written in the fucking 50s and was still focusing on it is impressive already despite its flaws (also I love how the movie extrapolated and expanded on the original premise).

the most rewatched movie this year though would definitely be the “dreamers never die” documentary, no contest here (not crying at the very end of it is a challenge I always fail tbh).

oh and a honorable mention to “Nimona”, really loved that one.

5. TV show of the year?

realized only now that I haven't really watched lots of tv shows this year, huh. I think the only thing I did watch was the second season of “shadow and bone” and that's it, even though there's lots of other stuff i've been meaning to catch up with.

14. Favorite book you read this year?

answered there!

21. What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

hmm i've got a new pin board, does it count?? it's bigger than my old one (and made from a different material, which turned out to be better) but i'm somehow already running out of space on it XD it was nice though to rearrange everything on it in a more systematic way rather than just slapping new bits of paper onto whenever I found a free spot (and to add Silvy's gifts there💜).

another new (like. literally last week new) thing is actually on my computer but it's sth i've been wishing for for literal years so it gets a mention anyway and it's an amp simulator. bc to be able to just plug my guitar in and build up the sound I want from scratch (well, not necessarily, there are tons of presets, it's just a very rare one that sounds well enough with solos imho) and have so much control over it, even over how much distortion I get depending on how hard I hit the strings? it's divine, i'm telling you. took me a while to figure out what exactly I need but damn, it's just so freaking awesome

[loveli-liya]

Today, I'll be sharing two albums I own from an obscure producer: muhmue!

I honestly don't understand why his songs aren't more popular; he makes some of the most catchy technopop tracks with GUMI and Rin! It's too bad these he's been inactive for a while now... ಥ_ಥ Welp, I'm subscribed to his NND, so when he does come back, I'll be one of the first to know! uwu

I am uploading these albums for preservation purposes! Since he's such an obscure producer, please, PLEASE purchase his albums on BOOTH if you like what you hear:

For the physical albums, you'll need a Japanese proxy to purchase and ship them to you— I personally recommend From Japan! It's not as complicated as you might think, and you can always PM me if you have questions; I'd be happy to help!! ^^ He has more albums than the ones available on his BOOTH that occasionally pop up on Suruga-ya or Yahoo! Japan Auctions.

Now, onto the uploads!

Rather than a proper album, 'Emotions' is an EP with 5 tracks! 2 of them are remixes of Chemical Emotion, muhmue's most popular song, titled Chemical Emotion -Ultramarine mix- and Chemical Emotion -navy blue mix- respectively! The other three are original tracks, of which my favorite has to be Hyper Liar sung by Rin! :3

AHHHH, I love this album so much!! It slaps from beginning to end, not to mention the adorable album art! (๑•ᴗ•๑)♡ Some of my favorites from this album are: indigo flower, Parallel Transistor, Tenshi no Kureyon (Crayons of Angels), Kirei Koto (Lip Service), 2 smiles, Chemical Emotion, and— of course— Pure Rhythm! Hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did!!

All songs were extracted from the CD in FLAC format, so that they're the best possible quality without being too large! I tag songs like this: Japanese Name (Romaji name or English translation). The artist is the synthesizer (or synthesizers) credited for the vocals, while the album artist is the producer whose album it is. In the composer field, I put anyone who was involved in creating the song, regardless of who did what. If they mastered the song, they're there. If they manipulated the synthesizer's voice for the song, they're there. If they wrote the lyrics for the song, they're there. If the link doesn't work, shoot me a message to let me know. Otherwise, enjoy! (≡^∇^≡)

[itsuki-minamy]

"CRUSH ON BABY" (PART 1)

NOVEL: REI RAIRAKU (GORA) / ILLUSTRATION: HIROKO UTSUMI

TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN

* List of Chapters

Hibiki has a sex appeal that makes him stand out even with those of the same sex.

However, despite that kind of matter, there was little concern for appearance. Despite the fact that he has cat hair and a bad habit of sleeping, he doesn't mind it, and even comes out on stage with a very messy head.

When he came to see Hibiki live for the first time, Minase was worried about Hibiki's sleeping habit, coldly barked, and couldn't concentrate. Since then, he has come to fix his hair before live performances.

"Is it alright if I let it play lightly like always?"

"Yes, leave it at that, Minase."

In the small dressing room of the live show, Minase fixed Hibiki's hair while he was careful not to disturb the other performers. First, he lightly dampened the hair to restore hair that he was bouncing too freely and then blow-dried it to create a lock of hair.

"Hibiki, are you going to have Minase-kun do your hair again?"

The band member, Yasushi, who was getting a haircut together with Hibiki, pouted and said that.

"Yes."

Hibiki also gloated and laughed, so Minase lowered his eyebrows and waved his hand.

"No, to me it's like I'm practicing with a cracked hair."

"If we become famous, I'll be proud to say that you're the hairstylist and makeup artist who made Hibiki Aisaka shine."

"In that case, I'd like to use Hibiki's name as much as possible. It'll be a nice addition, so let me quickly brag."

Minase replied jokingly, but it wasn't really a joke, it was a possible future.

Hibiki is a man in the band whose homeland is Shimokitazawa. He is the vocalist of the band "Lonely Sleep" and is also the main songwriter for the band's songs. "Lonely Sleep" has gained solid popularity centered on Hibiki, with the latter song being ranked in the TOP 100 on the distribution site. Currently, it seems that famous people are also calling him.

"I like when Minase touches my hair."

As he let the gel mix into his fluffy hair and let it play with the ends of his hair, Hibiki narrowed his eyes and said that.

"That's what you usually say to girls, right?"

"Haha, did you hear?"

"You don't have to show off your girl's persuasion techniques."

"I'm just saying what I think. You'll fall in love with me, so it's like committing a sin."

"Yes, yes."

He asked him again about his tone as he spoke lightly and finished his hair with a spray.

"Will the crackers go to the majors?"

"Eh? Hmm... I don't know."

In response to Minase's question, he returned a gruff voice that was different from the good response he had received earlier.

"You're reluctant, Hibiki. Well, indies have more freedom, and I've seen a lot of them disappear as soon as they go to the majors, so I don't know."

Although it's his own band, Yasushi says it's someone else's problem. Yasushi, who is the oldest member of the band and has a job, seems to be the type not originally oriented towards professionals and is content to do what he likes with the music he likes. The choice of whether or not to go to the majors seemed to be left up to Hibiki, who is the core of the band.

"Right now, I want to broaden my musical horizons. For that reason, I want to sing Yozora's song."

Hibiki said that with a light tone and laughed.

Hibiki's choices affect the lives of Yasushi and other band members.

To Hibiki, who was trying to choose a path to follow, his desire to sing a song Yozora made seemed convincing, contrary to the frivolous tone of the words Yozora said.

"I think Yozora will write songs that I can't write right now. If I can sing that, I feel like I'll be able to see a different scenario."

Minase smiled wryly.

"If you told Yozora-kun about your serious feelings, he'd probably listen to you a bit more."

"Eh? It's true that Yozora has that silly side, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him to do it without crying. If Yozora doesn't feel like doing it, it's pointless."

"I'm not telling you to cry. I'm telling you to be sincerer with your requests."

Hearing the exchange between Minase and Hibiki, Yasushi raised an eyebrow and said, "Sure.".

"Hibiki, did you talk about your obsession with "Yozora-kun" with anyone other than Minase-kun and Ba?"

At Yasushi's question, Hibiki tilted his head blankly.

"How is it? I feel like there's a story about that someone you want to make a song for. Why?"

"Because Miike-kun wrote a letter that seemed to know."

"Mike-kun?"

As Minase bowed his head, Yasushi picked up a paper parcel from among the stacked gifts and held it up where Hibiki and Minase could see it.

"Someone who writes a long fan letter every time. He's a huge fan of Hibiki. The shock was so strong that I completely remembered his face and his name."

Hibiki received a letter that seemed to be written on stationery and flipped through it. Minase looked at the letter from behind Hibiki.

The letter itself was addressed to the band, but the content was mostly words to Hibiki. Perhaps someone with some musical experience, his impressions of the "Lonely Sleep" songs were extraordinarily detailed, and although he thought he wrote a series of critical analyzes of the songs, he also wrote extensively about how he felt about the songs on hibiki.

"How can I say...? It's amazing."

When he tried to express his impressions softly, that was all he could say.

However, Hibiki was probably used to receiving strong attachments and affections. "Well.", he stopped him slightly.

"Artists don't like other people making them dream, so I'm thankful that people are so involved with me~. He seems to have a bit of a stalker temper."

"He is a man, right?"

"Yes. He's in his late twenties and it doesn't look like he's in a band. It's pretty rare for a guy to send out hot fan mail all the time."

Hibiki continued to flip through the paper. The letter, which was a mixture of criticism and fantasies, and in some places the statement that "I am the one who understands Hibiki's talent the most", honestly brought tears to his eyes, but Hibiki wiped his eyes with a flat attitude.

However, towards the end of the letter, Hibiki stopped.

"I heard that there is someone Hibiki wants me to write a song. I think Hibiki's songs are supreme, but I can understand the idea of wanting to add something new, so I won't object. Hibiki wants to make that wish come true, but before that, I want you to take a look at the song I wrote. I think it's a song that fits Hibiki. It doesn't matter if Hibiki sings it or not."

At the end of the letter was the sheet music. Minase was able to read the score. He followed the notes with Hibiki's eyes, and in his heart, he thought he was bold.

The song included in the letter was in good shape, but that was all. Sending that to a musician he admires and being able to say it from a higher perspective that he doesn't care if he sings seemed to be the heart of the matter.

"Well, just take my feelings."

Hibiki said that with a wry smile and put down the letter.

"I don't remember revealing Yozora's name or background, so I think it's fine, but I don't think you should say careless things outside."

Hibiki scratched his head.

The proximity between independent bands and the fans can often cause problems.

Minase looked at the letter on the desk.

Even if the music written there was of higher quality, it wouldn't be what Hibiki wanted.

What Hibiki is looking for is his starting point, the sound of the beginning of his longing.

++++++++++

Minase, Hibiki, and Yozora met ten years ago.

Minase was eleven years old, Hibiki was twelve, and Yozora was fifteen.

It was just an exchange of words. Ten years have passed since then, and it was only about a month and a half ago that Minase and Hibiki met again.

Hibiki came to the beauty salon where Minase works and became Minase's first client.

Normally, it takes two to three years for an assistant who just graduated from beauty school to be able to cut clients' hair as a stylist. The owner of the beauty salon where Minase works is meritocratic, and the assistant graduates when she judges that he has the skills to match hers.

That day was the first time Minase was allowed to touch a customer's hair other than shampoo and blow dryer, and it was Hibiki who came there.

At first, he didn't realize it was the boy he met ten years ago. Facing a young man with an aura who opened the door of the shop and appeared, he was nervous because the obstacles seemed to be high from the first shot.

The owner of the beauty salon where Minase works is a well-known person who also does hair and makeup for magazines and publicity shoots. That young man, who seemed to make a living by appearing in public, must have heard of the owner's reputation and came to the store.

He greeted with a sense of humiliation that such a novice stylist was in charge.

"I am Rui Minase, and I will be in charge today. Nice to meet you."

There was no immediate response, so Minase silently looked at Hibiki. Hibiki's eyes, which were wide, met his line of sight through the mirror.

"Rui? It's you?"

"Eh? Those eyes, after all, but..."

He answered while he was confused, and Hibiki's eyes widened further.

"Minase, it's you?"

"Yes. Have I changed?"

Minase's name is generally not used in kanji for boys' names. That name was given to him by his mother, who once tried to become a pianist and was frustrated in the past, hoping that this child could perform in a way that would make people cry.

Unfortunately, that wish never came true.

"I knew it.", he heard a low-pitched murmur.

"Hairdresser, you used to play the piano, right?"

"Eh? Why...?"

Hibiki, who was looking at him through the mirror, turned around and looked straight at Minase's face.

"Ten years ago, you were in a restaurant with a piano! A restaurant where there was a recital by an amazing fifteen-year-old boy!"

At that moment, the sight from ten years ago flashed in Minase's head.

The sound of a piano played by a genius. The pressure from his mother. Fingers happily jumping on the keyboard. The face of a young man fascinated and excited by music.

"...Hibiki-kun?"

He remembered the name. He also felt a remnant of his face, if you asked him.

At that time, he had the impression that he was more feminine and cute, but his cat eyes were still the same.

"Yes, Hibiki Aisaka! Hey, are you still his friend? That piano boy, Yozora!"

He thought that comment was something strange.

Minase left the piano a long time ago, his relationship with Yozora had been broken for a long time, but he met Yozora a few months before he met Hibiki.

Looking for a model who would let him cut his hair for free, he called Yozora who was in front of Shimokitazawa station. When he called out to him, all he could see was Yozora's silky black hair, but the moment Yozora turned around and his eyes met, they recognized each other.

He felt like saying goodbye after exchanging just a few words, but when he learned that Yozora lived in the same neighborhood and currently works as a bartender, he somehow ended up becoming a regular customer there.

Then, not long after, he ran into Hibiki again.

In that city where people live with loose connections, the thin threads of three people who crossed paths ten years ago became intertwined again. Minase sensed there a modest destiny.

Unfortunately, when he took Hibiki to Yozora's bar, Yozora didn't remember Hibiki.

Minase left the dressing room remembering Yozora's indescribable face when he introduced Hibiki to him. When he entered the room, he found a straight face leaning against the far wall, having a drink.

Minase walked directly towards him.

"Yozora-kun, you're here. You said you wouldn't go because you'd be at the store."

Yozora turned away sheepishly as his smile relaxed.

"By the way, the bar was originally closed irregularly and forced me to leave the ticket, I don't think it's a good idea to waste it..."

He laughed at Yozora who said things that weren't honest.

Yozora didn't remember the Hibiki that he met ten years ago. Although it was annoying, they seemed to be completely united.

Minase also thinks that Hibiki is quite a mysterious man. He seems flighty, but he's good at people watching and pushing the limits without breaking the line.

Minase also admits that he's quite sociable, but he has a broad and superficial style, and even though he didn't have many friends to hang out with frequently, Hibiki called him many times in a short period of time, and before he knew it, he was closer to him than any of his old acquaintances.

On the other hand, he never touched the part where Minase seemed to get annoyed and he apart his hand.

"...I know you're popular with the girls."

He mumbled unintentionally, and Yozora looked at Minase in a strange way.

As the time for the performance approached, the venue was packed with people. The customer ratio between men and women is about 50/50, and you can see that Hibiki's imagery isn't the only thing that attracts women.

Now that he thought about it, he wondered if the fan card guy he'd seen in the dressing room was out there somewhere. As he looked around him, Minase moved slightly and shook his shoulders.

Standing in the front row of the stage, there was a young man looking at the venue as if he was watching it.

The other people waiting in the front row looked excitedly at the stage and chatted with their companions, but the man turned his back to the stage and searched the faces of the people, looking around as if he was going to leave.

If the position where the young man was standing was in the back, where Minase and Yozora were, he might have wondered if it was someone from the industry who came to watch the live performance, but while standing in the front row, the behavior from him it was as if he floated in the surroundings.

In Minase's head, the sender of the fan letter and his existence were immediately linked.

It matched the characteristics that Hibiki said. He was in his late twenties, roughly the same age as Yozora, and was dressed in a crisp white shirt and pants that didn't fit the atmosphere of a live show. He seemed well educated.

"Minase? What's wrong?"

Yozora strangely called out to the hardened Minase.

As Minase was about to reply, the young man's eyes suddenly turned to him.

He felt that their gazes were mixed. No, was he looking at Yozora instead of Minase?

Looking directly at the young man's face, a slight feeling of déjà vu passed through Minase.

"Yozora-kun, that person…"

As Minase was about to say that, the hall lights went out.

Kyaaa, ooohhh, cheers filled with anticipation rose like a wave.

Minase and Yozora also stopped talking and looked at the stage. The young man in the front row, who had been looking back until just now, also turned to face the stage.

The band members appeared on stage. Guitar, bass, drums, and finally Hibiki stood in front of the vocal microphone.

When he met him in the dressing room, he was the usual slow young man, but when he stood up straight onstage, Hibiki was impressively powerful.

The drums set the rhythm, he played the guitar and the song began.

[kindahoping4forever]

Hi Crystal!

Just looked through your blog to see if I had missed any thoughts you shared on the album, but instead I saw you said you didn't post anything bc no one asked. So I came here to ask ☺️

What song surprised you most? What's your current top 3? What line(s) keeps rotating in your head? What stood out to you most on first listen? (Feel free to ignore the questions if you'd like to just ramble about the album in general. I just want to know your thoughts haha)

What did you end up thinking of the iHeartradio set list? I was surprised they didn't play Bad Omens and that Complete Mess was actually the only new song they played.

They really did look hot. Especially Ashton. I feel like it's always especially Ashton lmao.

I really appreciate you both looking for and asking my opinion! (And sorry for the delay in answering, omg this week has been a lot both IRL and in 5SOS-land 🫠)

Current Top 3 would have to be: Caramel, Bad Omens and... Moodswings? Either Moodswings or Red Line. (I should do the song sorter to see how I really feel I guess 😌) I don't know if any particular song surprised me but I think in general, I was pleasantly surprised at how much their lyricism has continued to evolve. There's so much symbolism and truly poetic imagery in this album, while still maintaining an accessibility that doesn't distract from the sometimes painful honesty of what's being talked about.

Which was another surprise for me: they talked so much about wanting this album to feel lighter and brighter than CALM, how they purposely wrote in major chords and keys, how that's what the world "needs" - and they accomplished that, this album is energetic and a delight... but also contains some of their saddest lyrics to date. 😅 I'm definitely not complaining, sad girl hours all day everyday, I actually love that juxtaposition, but that was funny to me.

Another pleasant surprise (for me anyways lmao) is how Ash-heavy this album feels - and I don't just mean how rhythm heavy it is or the fact that he actually gets lead vocals (that would've been enough though 😍) and is so audible in the group vocals. One of the things I've always loved about 5SOS is at least to me, I feel like they each have distinct songwriting/melodic voices and tendencies and so it's often apparent whose artistry is driving a song. And so to me, I hear a lot of Ash melodies and I see his large fingerprints all over some of these lyrics. Which makes me both happy and sad because like I said, this album is lowkey depressing as fuck but you know what, the man knows how to make beautiful art out of that darkness so 😌

I don't know if I'm ready to say it's my favorite album or their best album yet (historically I usually say YB is the fav and CALM is their best, for the record) but I am definitely very happy and very proud of what was accomplished here! 👏🏻👏🏻

iHeartRadio thoughts under the cut!

I really really loved the iHeart set! I saw them at Wango Tango (another iHeart event) and while I will never complain about seeing them live, their set there was... puzzling to say the least. Only 5 songs total and the only new song they did was Me Myself & I, which was only a few weeks old and had not received the radio exposure that Complete Mess had (and also a bit too mid-tempo for the set IMO).

I think they definitely made strides to correct those issues in the iHeart set and it was a dream! At a radio/festival show, the goals should be crowd engagement (which is why I think they mostly stuck to their best known songs) and giving a performance so memorable, no matter how many artists play, you're the one people go home remembering. For that reason, Teeth should always be in their festival set, even if people don't know it (and it seemed like a surprising amount did!), it slaps so hard, it's gonna be a moment whether you're a fan or not. I think they should also consider making Complete Mess a staple in that kind of set, it's also a great live moment and I think gives a good example of what kind of band they'd like to be seen as in this era. And I will never get over the fact we got No Shame/Easier/More at a radio show, that's nuts. It's what we (and More) deserve. 10/10.

[themizzcandy]

65th Grammy Awards: Best Progressive R&B Album

I had to take a minute to listen to most of these albums a couple times, and I've arrived at my assessment of them all. I'm also gonna try keeping my reviews brief, since long Tumblr posts are not really the vibe. Let's get into it.

"This Category recognizes excellence in albums of progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B. This Category is intended for artists whose music includes the more progressive elements of R&B and may include samples and elements of hip-hop, rap, dance, and electronic music. It may also incorporate production elements found in pop, euro-pop, country, rock, folk, and alternative."

Operation Funk - Cory Henry

Based on the description of this category, I'm a little confused about why this album is included here. I enjoy the album, but there's an "old soul/funk" vibe to it that makes me question how "progressive" it truly is. This is giving 'traditional' more than it is progressive, to me.

Gemini Rights - Steve Lacy

Now this album is a personal favorite of last year. It feels like it was made specifically for the Black kid that grew up loving 2000s pop/rock. This is Steve's 2nd solo album following his work with The Internet', and it is refreshing to see him on top of the world with Bad Habit. However, I actually would not call this an R&B album at all. It is mostly a soft/pop rock with some moments of soul in it. And for that reason, I also don't think it fits the category as much as others.

Drones - Terrace Martin

This is the first album in the list that feels like Progressive R&B to me. Intricate production, electronic influences with hip hop undertones, features by several new-school acts, ending with a James Fauntleroy gospel song? Very much the embodiment of innovative, forward-thinking R&B. I enjoyed this project a lot.

Starfruit - Moonchild

Now we're at the 2nd album in the category that fits the description. This project is "cruising on a breezy Saturday afternoon" music. The lead singer's voice is airy and relaxing, and the production is funky, creative and jazzy. My one qualm.. despite her voice and the musicality.. there's somewhat of a monotony across this album.

Red Balloon - Tank and the Bangas

Y'aaaalllllllll.

I'm familiar with the name of this band, but I thought they might have been too left-field for me.

What a mistake that was.

This album is a sonic journey through Blackness. There's hip hop, funk, jazz, damn near gospel.. everything you need is in this album. And the versatility of Tank's voice is INSANE. How can one voice sound like the embodiment of Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Jazmine Sullivan and a lounge singer all on one project? Tank is her own person to be sure, I'm just saying she contains multitudes and I'm beyond impressed. I was sleep, but now I'm woke. A fusion like this also fits the progressive description to a T.

Who Should Win?

I don't need to deliberate. The winner better be Tank & The Bangas' Red Balloon album.

My 2nd choice would be Terrace Martin's Drones, and my 3rd Moonchild's Starfruit.

Let's see what they decide tomorrow.

[mushroomjar]

i know like nothing about vocaloid but you look like you're having a lot of fun and i think i might like to have fun as well. would you mind explaining them to me? each vocaloid has their own personality, right? what are they? what are your favorite songs by them? i know this is a lot lol you don't have to if you don't want to, but it looks fun and i want to know more!!

OMG!! I don't mind at all anon, this ask made me so happy!!!! Thank you!! I'll do my best to answer this as understandably as possible, but I've already faced issues when trying to explain all of this to people IRL, so feel free to ask again for clarification if there's anything you don't understand. Also this got a lot longer than I expected so I'm putting all of it under a read more, hope that's alright

Just so I don't assume you already know what vocaloid is I'm going to try to explain it quickly: VOCALOID is a voice synthesizer program, with which you can make vocals for music with voicebanks. Each voicebank is a different voice, provided by a real life person (thus we call these people "voice providers"), and each voicebank tends to have a character assigned to them, mainly for easier marketing purposes. So for example, if you want to make a song and you need vocals for it, you can purchase one of these voicebanks (like Hatsune Miku), and through the program, you can make them sing the lyrics, you can adjust the tuning of their voice just like an instrument (because that is what they are at the end of the day, an instrument really), and there you go! You have vocals for your song!

VOCALOID isn't the only voice synthesizer program, there are also others like UTAU, CeVIO, Synthesizer-V, etc. It should also be noted that many voicebanks originally designed for VOCALOID have moved on to other engines (all the CRYPTONloids, which are Miku, Rin, Len, Kaito, Meiko and Luka, have moved on to Piapro Studio, one designed specifically for them, just as an example), however VOCALOID is still going strong, and it's also the term I grew up with, so I use it as kind of a catch-all term for voicebanks in general, especially since most of the voicebanks I listen to were originally made for Vocaloid anyway, but I do also have a couple separate tags for voicebanks made for other programs

I invite other vocaloid and voicebank fans to correct me on any of that, or add additional info

Now with that out of the way, on to your next question: "Each vocaloid has their own personality, right?" Well... yes and no, but mainly no. Most of these vocaloids (calling them either vocaloid or voicebank is correct btw, voicebank is just a more specific way to refer to the character/their voice) actually have very few canon details about them, if any, and usually these canon traits are simply related to their character design, like we know Hatsune Miku is 16 years old, and we know her weight and height, but those are the oly canonical things she actually has. This is usually done for the sake of helping the voicebanks fit into the universe of whatever song the artists are making (btw musical artists that work with vocaloid are called producers, so I will be referring to them as such from now on). It helps make the immersion into each song easier as well. It could be more difficult to get invested in a song where Miku is supposed to interpret a calm and collected person if her canon personality was advertised as a hyperactive loud girl (I came up with this example to try to exemplify my words better but I feel like I'm just making it worse)

Now, there are some vocaloids that have canon characteristics (for example, Anon and Kanon are canonically twins, Aoki Lapis and Merli are sisters, Meika Hime and Meika Mikoto are not human and are siblings, etc), and there are even some that do have canon personalities. Now I don't know about every single vocaloid's canonical personality status, but the only one I can note off the top of my head is a... not very good one. Mayu, whose voice and design I love, but for some reason, her company decided to make her a canonical yandere and marketed her as such. It's no wonder that she's not a very popular vocaloid among producers anymore (that and the fact that as much as I love her voice, it is a very basic one, and it didn't bring anything new to the scene)

By the way there are some games that give some vocaloids canon personalities, like Project Diva: X and Colorful Stage, but I don't count those as canon to the vocaloids, I only count those as canon to the games and the games only

Finally, "what are your favorite songs by them?" I think a better way to phrase this is "what are your favorite vocaloid songs?" I'm sorry for being nitpicky, it's just that I've been in the community for a long time, long enough to remember when people didn't give any credit to the producers for their songs (people would say stuff like "world is mine by Hatsune Miku" when the correct crediting would be "worls id mine by ryo feat. Hatsune Miku", since Miku the robot didn't write the song, ryo did lmao), so I'm always really specific about that lmao

Now yes, I can tell you some of my favorite vocaloid songs! But first may I gush a bit about producers? Because what I love most about vocaloid is its diversity in genre. You can make vocaloid music in literally any genre possible, and some of my favorite demonstrations of this are hachi's experimental rock songs, Utsu-P's metal (yes, vocaloid metal, and yes, it slaps), PinocchioP's... electronic? Pop...... rock? Music...? (I'm very bad with genres), Kairikibear's rock, OSTER Project's jazzy pop, Wonderful Opportunity's electronic and rock and pop music, Mitchie M's pop, and Inabakumori's... chill rock? (I like to describe his music as chill rock. I am VERY bad with genres) Anyway those are just some of my favorite producers, but there are many many more in many many other different genres, like DECO*27 with rock pop, or AlexTrip Sands with cumbia

Now for some of my favorite vocaloid songs. I'm going to list them off, and you can look for them yourself if you're interested in hearing what they sound like. Vocaloid songs are more easily found on YouTube and NicoNico (a Japanese video streaming platform), so don't be surprised if you're a Spotify user and can't find the songs there (I say this jic because most people I know are mainly Spotify users, as am I, but I also have a playlist on YouTube with vocaloid songs I can't find on Spotify). Anyway some of my favorite vocaloid songs are:

Donut Hole - hachi feat. GUMI (my absolute FAVORITE song, not just of vocaloid. You can also find a self-cover under the producer's real name, Kenshi Yonezu)

Unknown Mother Goose - wowaka (RIP) feat. Hatsune Miku

Tengaku - Yuuyu-P feat. Kagamine Rin

NOISELESS HEART - Mitchie M feat. Hatsune Miku

Amanojaku - 164 feat. GUMI

Leia - Yuyoyuppe feat. Megurine Luka

GimmexGimme - Hachioji-P and Giga feat. Kagamine Rin and Hatsune Miku

Doppelganger Dispute - Wonderful Opportunity (also known as Jesus-P or Minus-P) feat. Kagamine Rin

Yowamushi Montblanc - DECO*27 feat. GUMI

God-ish - PinocchioP feat. Hatsune Miku

Lost One's Weeping - neru feat. Kagamine Rin

Narisumashi Genga - KulfiQ feat. Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin

Hello/How Are You - Hoehoe-P feat. Hatsune Miku

-ERROR - niki feat. Lily

Lover's Suicide Oblivion - OPA and Asaki No'9 feat. MEIKO

Lag Train - Inabakumori feat. Kaai Yuki

BUG - Kairikibear feat. Hatsune Miku

Life Reset Button - kemu feat. GUMI

Ikanaide - sohta feat. Kaai Yuki

IDSMILE - toa feat. Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin

I'm sorry, I know that's A LOT, I forced myself to delete many of the songs I originally wrote down, you don't have to listen to all of them. I also tried not to repeat producers so I could give as much variety as possible, though unfortunately I can't say the same for the vocaloids used in the songs. If you're interested, I could try recommending songs with other vocaloids, like Yuzuki Yukari or KAITO

Anyway, I've been typing for 30 minutes or more, I should put an end to all of this now. Thank you so much for the ask, anon! I hope this answers all your questions, but feel free to ask more if you have any more questions! Have a lovely lovely day, I had so much fun answering this!

[hanarchy]

was tagged by @bungeejumpings to do this and i called in sick to work today so here we goooo

list your top 10 biases and then answer the questions under the cut. try not to look at the questions before making the list

(now i apologize in advance, i dont know that much about most of these people it’s just vibes, i tried not to have more than one person from a group)

1. han jisung

2. lee know

3. momo

4. shuhua

5. solar

6. jooyeon

7. seulgi

8. key

9. kazuha

10. ningning

1. Between 7 and 5, who did you bias first?

oh solar for sure. i didnt really get rv for like a year after i started listening to kpop, but now theyre on track to be one of my most listened to artists 🙈

2. Between 2 and 6, who are you more attached to?

ok this one’s not hard. i am here for skz first always, i cant seem to get away from them. though i am very fond of my little xdinary guys too.

3. If you were to spend the day with either 3 or 1, who would you choose and what would you do?

well i mean i gotta be honest with u i don’t think i’d vibe super well with momo. i love her but we have just diametrically opposed vibes. so jisung, and we’d maybe go to a cafe and chat (i have the feeling he is the kind of young man who will meet me and immediately have a desire to tell me his life story, which happens to me often lol) and then we could go for a walk, pick up some food and plan to watch anime but end up on youtube. he can show me the random shit he watches and i can show him mine and we would both walk away with a random new interest in an almost extinct bug species or the events of a specific day during the fall of the roman republic.

4. What is your favorite physical feature about 9?

shes only 19 so like. don’t misinterpret this but. abs.

5. What is your favorite part of 6's personality?

IDK!!!! he just seems like a sweet boy? and his voice is sooooo amazing.

6. If you were to tell 8 anything you wanted, what would you tell them?

i would ask him to tell me all the gossip he knows. ok no.

mostly i’d tell him that he has made an incredible career, that his artistic vision is so clear and unique and that his perspective is so valuable in kpop and i admire his perseverance and the strength he gives his fans. (i dont know enough about him to be funny abt this so i went sincere)

7. Between 1 and 2, whose closet would you raid?

oh its jisung. he has more fun stuff. though they do share enough and are boring men enough for it not to matter that much.

8. What is a style that you want to see 3 try?

oh i really don’t know. i feel like she embodies that twice cute/sexy/elegant intersection sooo well, the only thing i’d want is to see her personality come through more in their creative concepts.

9. Between 5 and 4, who are you closer to in height?

i was gonna say mamamoo short as hell so probably shuhua but actually it seems she’s short too. so if its official (company mandated) height it’s solar, if it’s real height shuhua. of course that is assuming cube does not lie like rbw.

10. Between 10 and 9, whose music do you like the best?

thats rough too bc i dont listen to many songs from either group. just a few of each. i’m gonna say lesserafim.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

23 and 28 for the somg meme!

23: A song that you think everybody should listen to

listen that's such a loaded question and nothing is for everybody, my favorite songs sound like dogshit to somebody and vice versa, etc. having said that I looooooove this song so much

28: A song by an artist with a voice that you love

man a thing I love about the music asks is that unlike a lot of ask games, you can recycle questions forever! cause there are so many artists whose voices I love! here's another one! Yola made me fall in love with this song WAY before I watched Rocketman and realized it was an Elton John cover lmao

[camplofi]

BSOTS 178 - Creative Commons Gems From Public Enemy And Nikki Giovanni

All comments, questions, and general feedback can be sent to radiobsots@gmail.com.  Record a voice message and send it my way or leave one at the Speakpipe page!

You can subscribe to Radio BSOTS via the following options: RSS feed ||| Apple Podcasts ||| Spotify ||| Google Podcasts Amazon Music ||| Stitcher ||| TuneIn ||| iHeartRadio

Connect with Camp Lo-Fi via social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

This episode's track list (title / artist / source / license):

1.  Old Futuro Blues by Yoko Absorbing [Free Music Archive] (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

2.  Zo0o0o0p​!​!​! feat. Oddisee by Kidkanevil [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

3.  All I Know (Featuring Big Remo and The Hamiltones) by Wals [blocSonic] (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

4.  Dance of Contradictions by Isak Gaines [Bandcamp] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

5.  Ridiculous Love (wetSkin Hot Summer ReMix) by Niki J Crawford [Jamendo] (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

6.  In The Spirit Of Martin by Nikki Giovanni [Free Music Archive] (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0)

7.  Get Up Stand Up (Featuring Brother Ali) by Public Enemy [blocSonic] (CC-BY-NC 3.0)

Looking back over the last ten shows for the BSOTS podcast feed, eight of them featured at least one Creative Commons licensed tune.  Even after more than 15 years of podcasting, the CC music landscape still feels like largely uncharted territory for me, which is probably why I've felt the need to dig through the online crates to see what I can find.  In addition, I've been listening to prior BSOTS episodes from over a decade ago, revisiting the music that I have played on the show and taking note of the songs that still sound great to me so that I can reintroduce them on future episodes.  This show marks Camp Lo-Fi's long overdue return to the feed and is where my CC music appreciation agenda kicks into high gear.  The seven songs featured are a mix of tunes from prior BSOTS episodes alongside selections receiving their first spins, cutting across genre and released between 2009 and 2023.

The blocSonic netlabel opened my eyes and ears to the world of CC licensed music.  It was through their netBloc series of compilations that I was introduced to a network of artists and online labels, most of it (if not all) available to freely download and share.  The blocSonic offerings in this episode are courtesy of last year's album from Wals and a stellar cut from Public Enemy (as heard on netBloc vol. 44), featuring the always on-point lyricism of Chuck D and special guest Brother Ali.  Another notable hip-hop moment is "Zo0o0o0p​!​!​!," the brief but absolutely banging cut from Kidkanevil featuring Oddisee, a ridiculously talented emcee and producer whose music I've been championing on this show for well over a decade.  Isak Gaines moves us into the unpredictable and experimental side of jazz with "Dance Of Contradictions," a song that sonically lives up to its title.  A bouncy yet broken groove for the first half of the song gives way to a beatless abyss of sound effects and saxophone screeches before bringing the hammer down with a distorted bass line and a defiant horn section.

Niki J Crawford's "Ridiculous Love" was an unexpected surprise that I stumbled upon over on Jamendo, a sultry soul offering made all the more seductive with the wetSkin Hot Summer ReMix.  It's percussion heavy with a slight Brazilian influence and a breezy shuffle topped with acoustic guitar strums and Niki's powerhouse vocals.  Yoko Absorbing's "Old Futuro Blues" is a short, sweet, and somewhat off-kilter cut that lives in repeated moments of loops, locked grooves, and live instrumentation.  And there's probably no better example of the sonic treasures waiting to be discovered over at the Free Music Archive than live recordings of legendary poet Nikki Giovanni.  "In The Spirit Of Martin" is her ode to not only the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but to the struggle and perseverance of the Civil Rights movement as a whole.

If you're Creative Commons curious but have been unsure where to start looking, hopefully episodes like these can demystify this world of music one song at a time.  Thank you so much for listening.

Other key info: Theme music produced by Cy Tru and edited by Macedonia.  ID drop courtesy of DarrenKeith.

The content of this show has been released under a CC-BY-SA license.  All works within this show retain their original releases.  See the show notes at bsots.com for more information.

Another BSOTS podcast episode for the people...