#returning to my point: there is something... fascinating in the concept of devotion this song does. almost predatory like

[pendragora]

"Her love is yours...

But only if you give your heart to her."

This particular part of the verse is hitting different every single time

[aion-rsa]

15 Best PlayStation One RPGs Ever Made

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In our look at the best Super Nintendo RPGs ever, we mentioned that the SNES is arguably the greatest RPG console in video game history. Well, if there is a console that makes that discussion an argument, it would have to be the PlayStation One. 

With a lot of help from Square, Sony quickly established the PlayStation as not just the home of incredible RPG experiences but as a console that was capable of effectively convincing people who previously had no real interest in RPGs that they absolutely needed to devote 50+ hours of their life to the next gaming epic. That sudden rise in genre popularity inspired some of the industry’s greatest RPG developers to try to outdo each other creatively and commercially. 

The result was a classic collection of role-playing experiences that still rank comfortably among the absolute best ever made. With due respect to the 20+ other games that deserve to be on this list, these are the 15 best PS1 RPGs ever made. 

15. The Legend of Dragoon

The Legend of Dragoon’s legacy has only grown since the game’s late 1999 release, and it’s not hard to see why. While this game was initially criticized for not living up to the standards of some of the other PS1 RPGs we’ll soon be talking about, time has been kind to the various things this game does so very well.

The Legend of Dragoon makes up for its slow story with an incredible combat system that emphasizes an almost QTE-like mechanic that helps ensure you’re rarely simply watching a battle play out. This RPG’s character transformation mechanic is also one of those brilliant gameplay concepts that should have been copied many times since this game’s release. There’s also always been something special about the fact that Legend of Dragoon‘s ambitious CGI cutscenes ensured this epic spanned four PS1 discs. 

14. Wild Arms

Wild Arms is another one of those PS1 RPGs that were initially overshadowed by some of the all-time classic games it had to compete against, but the thing that stood out about this title at the time is the thing that still makes Wild Arms special to this day: its style. 

Wild Arms‘ blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and western design concepts shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does here. Developer Media.Vision deserves a lot of credit for ensuring this game’s ambitious world always felt cohesive and for finding some truly clever ways to subvert genre expectations through this title’s approach to exploration, combat, and puzzles. 

13. Breath of Fire III

The Breath Of Fire III vs. Breath of Fire IV debate will likely not be settled here, but the third entry in this series ultimately gets my nod due to the ways it so clearly raised the bar for this franchise and its genre competition. 

Breath of the Fire III’s 3D visuals and voice acting helped sell this game’s engaging story, while the game’s combat and wonderful cast of characters ensured you were constantly engaged and ready to see where this absolute gem was going to take you next. 

12. Front Mission 3

Front Mission 3 rewards players willing to put the time into its fairly complex mechanics and deep storyline with one of the best tactical RPGs of the era and one of the best mech games ever made. 

This game is rightfully remembered for its customization options and often punishing tactical gameplay but I don’t know if it gets enough love for its faction-driven narrative and the ways its visuals convey epic mech battles without relying on more traditional action gameplay. 

11. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

The only reason this all-time great game isn’t higher on the particular list is that there are just other PS1 RPGs that better represent the genre and the kind of epic experiences we think of when we think of one of the best RPG platforms ever. 

Having said that, the way that Symphony of the Night incorporated RPG elements not only changed the franchise forever but eventually helped inspire developers everywhere to enhance their own action titles by utilizing role-playing mechanics. This is still one of the best blends of role-playing and action/adventure ever made.

10. Valkyrie Profile

Long before God of War took us on a journey through Norse mythology, Valkyrie Profile caught many PS1 gamers by surprise with its unique blend of Japanese design and a Norse narrative that tasks you with assembling the perfect party of heroes to assist you through Ragnarok.

Valkyrie Profile‘s true calling card, though, is its turn-based combat system that essentially assigns a button to each character in your party. Getting the most out of your party of heroes requires you to successfully assign each character the right actions at the right time in order to unleash powerful combo attacks. It’s complex, original, and a whole lot of fun. 

9. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete 

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete may have started off as a Sega Saturn title, but it’s hard not to ultimately remember this as a PS1 game due to the many ways that Sony’s first console allowed Lunar’s developers to share their full vision for this classic. 

It’s true that Lunar is an “old-school” JRPG in a lot of ways that might turn some people off, but when level grinding, party management, and methodical turn-based gameplay are done this well, it’s hard not to see this as one of the ultimate genre comfort zones. 

8. Star Ocean: The Second Story

It’s hard to talk about Star Ocean without eventually getting around to the fact that it has almost 90 possible endings, so let’s not bury the lede. What’s even more impressive than the game’s number of possible endings, though, is the fact that many of those endings are clever, logical, and, in their own ways, complete. 

Really, though, this game’s incredible number of possible conclusions just highlights the various ways this sci-fi/fantasy title makes you feel like every action you do truly matters and that anything can happen. I also have to pay respect to this game’s brilliant “private action” system: a unique mechanic that allows your party members to have their own adventures that ultimately contributes to some of the best sidequests in RPG history.

Read more

Games

25 Best RPGs Ever Made

By Matthew Byrd

Games

Was Final Fantasy Really the First JRPG?

By Matthew Byrd

7. Xenogears

Xenogears features a fascinating blend of styles and mechanics that is quite appropriate considering the details of this game’s complicated development history (it started off as a pitch for Final Fantasy VII before briefly being designed as a Chrono Trigger sequel). Admittedly, there are times when you can tell this game is trying to find its creative voice and gameplay footing. 

Yet, all the concepts this RPG touches upon ultimately come together to form something wonderful and memorable. It features one of the best ATB combat systems ever, a complex and creative story, a lot of heart, great visuals, and a truly incredible soundtrack. Sure, the game struggles a bit in the second half, but it’s easy enough to overlook those shortcomings as the byproduct of ambition. 

6. Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII should be a victim of its own success. After all these years, all the praise, and all of the discussions, you would think we’d be at the point where the dreaded term “overrated” might linger just above this game’s legacy. 

That’s not the case, though. Maybe Final Fantasy VII was eventually surpassed, but it’s truly tragic to imagine what RPG gaming in the ‘90s and early 2000s would have been like if it wasn’t for this game. It alerted millions to the fact they loved video game RPGs, and it did it without sacrificing depth, quality, heart, or ambition. 

5. Final Fantasy Tactics

Considered by many at the time to be the best tactical RPG ever made, it has to be said that the most impressive thing about Final Fantasy Tactics is the fact that it’s still difficult to argue against this game’s claim to that title nearly 24 years after its release.

Final Fantasy Tactics‘ surprisingly accessible (yet still deep and rewarding) gameplay perfectly complements its colorful visuals, engaging character, and surprising story. I don’t know if it’s the best tactical RPG ever made, but it may always be seen as the standard in the eyes of many. 

4. Vagrant Story

It feels like people have been waiting for Vagrant Story to get the love it deserves ever since the game was released in 2000. While Vagrant Story absolutely has a cult following, it seems pretty clear at this point that it’s just never going to reach that level. It’s too difficult, too different, and it will probably never get the remaster it deserves. 

However, those who have played Vagrant Story know it was Square’s most mechanically ambitious and unique PlayStation RPG. From its stunning visuals to its deep combat and mature narrative, Vagrant Story has honestly aged better than all but a few of the games of this era. A game this different and innovative shouldn’t feel as complete and confident as it does. 

3. Chrono Cross

From the moment Chrono Cross was released, it feels like the first line about this game has been that it disappointed those who were expecting a direct follow-up to Chrono Trigger. Even when we learned that the Chrono Cross team never really saw this as a Chrono Trigger sequel, Chrono Cross still lived in the shadow of its all-time great predecessor.

Maybe there are ways that Chrono Cross would have been better off sticking closer to that SNES classic, but even at the time of its somewhat controversial release, many praised Chrono Cross for its innovative combat, weird and wonderful story, large cast of characters, music, visuals, and commitment to defying expectations at every turn. This shouldn’t be your first PS1 RPG, but it might be the one you end up remembering most fondly. 

2. Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX was essentially Square’s PS1 swan song. While the title’s return to the medieval fantasy style of classic FF games highlights the studio’s jovial mood at the time, the fact is that many people wondered if Square could recover from the controversial Final Fantasy VIII and produce an RPG that effectively ended their unbelievable run of hits in style. 

The fact they managed to do just that is an accomplishment that should never be overlooked. To this day, I struggle to think of even a handful of RPGs that challenge Final Fantasy IX’s charm, humor, and cast of characters while still providing a role-playing adventure that will feel rewarding to veterans and newcomers alike. This is an across-the-board triumph that delights and impresses in equal measure. 

1. Suikoden II

Suikoden II was pretty much “doomed to fail” from the start. It was released in the wake of Final Fantasy VIII’s massive debut, wasn’t widely distributed, and featured “retro” graphics that initially turned quite a few people off at the time of cinematic PS1 visuals. It didn’t help that its predecessor was a very good, but not great, RPG that also failed to find a wide audience. 

Yet, Suikoden II is quite simply one of the best games ever made regardless of genre. I would love to tell you about its nuanced and deep politically-driven narrative, varied combat system, minigames, world-building elements, and score, but how long can you really talk about Suikoden II without getting around to its cast of over 100 recruitable characters and the ways Konami managed to make each and every one of them (as well as their interactions with each other) among the best of their era? 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

I wouldn’t call this a perfect game, but at the same time, I’m struggling to think of a single thing I’d change about it. 

The post 15 Best PlayStation One RPGs Ever Made appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[seasaltmemories]

You Say You Wanna Go to Heaven, But You’re Human Tonight

Rating: T

Summary: And so, Alm added idolatry to the list of his sins.

~

The morning after Duma was slayed, Celica rose at dawn to pray.

The first time, Alm saw this, he had wondered if in her half-awaken haze she had somehow forgotten the events of yesterday.  Such a theory might sound crazy at first glance, but some mornings he imagined himself back in Ram Village.  Memories took a long time to die, so rather than inflict her any pain, he had faked slumber and let her go along her day, before “properly” waking up himself.

In time, he thought, they would both learn to accept the present.  Morning lies always faded away in the afternoon’s bright light.

But as the days turned into weeks and then months, still she continued to pray.  Ignorance nor denial could explain her actions.  She spoke of Mila’s and Duma’s demise with as much certainty as anyone else. Yet as busy as they were with rebuilding Valentia, she continued to find time to converse with those who would never answer her.

It would have been easy to write it off as madness, a quirk she had picked up to survive.  Most of them had strange habits of their own--like how Mathilda always carried a knife up her sleeve, even when the battlefield was far away and she was decked in her court finery, or how Valbar refused to be placed anywhere besides the front-lines, even when he looked ready to pass out from so much marching in his heavy army.  Everyone found their own way to cope, and the polite thing to do was turn away and pretend you didn’t notice anything.

But then Alm’s own idiosyncrasies made that difficult to do.  Like a voyeur, stealing away a moment of intimacy, he woke early to spy on her prayers.  He never let on that he was awake, rather he silently studied her closed eyes and clasped hands, searching for the method to it all.

It seemed faith had little to do with the gods themselves.

It wasn’t as if Alm had ever disliked religion.  Growing up, he had done everything expected of him: attended every religious holiday with a proper tribute of wool in tow, said his prayers to thank Mila for the year’s harvest, even as they dwindled with each famine.  But unlike Faye, whose eyes had sparkled with purpose when she had donned the clock and pledged herself to be Mila’s personal tool, Alm had never been able to understand such devotion.  He couldn’t give himself up for a being he had never even seen before.

The hypocrisy didn’t escape him.  It was because of Duma’s blessing, Valentia had deemed him their Saint-King.  Without Mila’s mercy, he would have been powerless to save Celica, forced to kill her by his own hand.  However it was those very boons that caused him to chafe against the concept.  Because if Duma had cursed him with his dying breath, if Mila had deemed Celica a proper sacrifice that must be made, was he supposed to have just step aside and bend to their will?  Was he supposed bleed himself dry for creatures whose talons had shed so much blood in the first place?

Even if the gods hadn’t been mad, hadn’t deserved to finally have some peace, he knew he would have slaughtered them still if it meant saving the life of one of his loved ones.  He couldn’t understand Celica having done the near opposite.  When they had discussed such matters in the dead of night, huddled together and whispering secrets against the other’s skin, her words might as well have been spoken in another language.

“Of course I rather live a long and happy life, but Valentia is much bigger than just you and me.”  Her red curls had tickled the crook of his neck and she settled in.  “It’s our birthright to take care of it.  My one life was hardly a price if it had really meant peace would return.”

There was no point in arguing with her when the matter was all said and done, but despite their physical closeness she seemed so far away in that moment--so virtuous and good that she was untouchable.  And later on it seemed as if he wasn’t the only one to feel this way.  Already many former clergy members had taken to preaching her as Mila incarnated as a human.  While most days he was glad for her, during lonely, selfish nights the devil inside would want to cut her wings, pin her to the earth, and never let her go.

“She promised herself to me, and me alone!  I’m sorry, world, but you can’t have her!”

Each time such a thought came to him, he followed the same routine.  He imagined himself picking up the thought, examining it thoroughly, and then locking it inside a black chest, never to be considered again.  Such a route was dangerous to travel, placing his love for his own desires over his love of Celica. Still whenever the box rattled and screamed, he cracked it open just one inch.  He allowed him to steal that one moment of privacy with what remained of the gods.

In the last week or so, Celica had finally scheduled a meeting with her new acolytes.  It was useful to have such loyal allies during a change in power, but it was tricky business to keep such a following from getting distorted into an actual cult.  Still it was the first time they had been separated from the war.  Despite knowing she was safe and doing important work, it was difficult to calm his nerves.

She was due to return in the early morning, so he tried to get some sleep.  Still he tossed and turned throughout the night, getting little rest.  He must have dozed at one point, because he ended up waking with a start when he heard the door to his quarters open.

“Hello, darling,” Celica whispered as she entered.  “I’m home.”

“Celica...what are you wearing?”  It was a pitiful response, bu  the outside light haloed her body provided just enough illumination for him to make out that she was wearing a saint’s garb.  Such a choice perplexed him so, he lost any greetings he might have offered up.

“It’s a long story, but the Church of the One Kingdom offered me a promotion,”  She padded across the room to sit at her dresser.  “Even though technically priestesses can’t qualify as saints...I must look ridiculous, don’t I?”

Ridiculous was far from the truth.  She looked radiant, holy, every bit of the heavenly angel they believed her to be.  It made his heart ache like nothing else.

“It’s late, so feel free to go back to sleep.  I’ll tell you about my day in the morning proper.”

“I’m not that tired, I don’t mind staying up longer.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t miss a thing.  I”ll make sure it’s the first thing I do.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Silence seized the two of them.  Shame compelled Alm to turn away.  He didn’t deserve to look at her after such a blasphemous slight, but there was some enthralling about the sight of her staring at him like that.  Celica had removed her makeup yet still remained gowned.  It was if she was caught between the divine and the earthly.

Slowly, she removed the pins from her hair.  It fell like a curtain across her shoulders.  “You’re right.  I guess I’ve gotten used to white lies in my time away.  The things they expect of me...”

“You’ve earned your stunning reputation though.”  Alm insisted.  “No matter how difficult it is, you’ll always choose the right choice.”

“I guess, absence truly makes the heart grow fonder.”  She undid the tassels flowing from her sleeves before taking off her gloves.  It was strange how much beauty seemed to linger in such a simple motion.  “Although we must be living proof of it.”

“There’s something tantalizing about what you can’t have.” He was trying not to concentrate on the heat pooling in his belly, but he couldn’t stop his breath from hitching as she unfastened her breastplate.  Still he could not look away.

“Where did you get the idea that I am not yours?”  Celica laughed. She made a show of sliding her hands down the curves of her body as she removed her skirts.  “You usually wear green with more grace.”

How odd.  He felt more like a heretic to be called out for his jealousy of the gods than he did after slaying them with his own hands.  “I’m just a fool chasing after a girl too important for his little dreams.  Didn’t stop to consider my competition until it was too late.”

“You of all people shouldn’t put me on a pedestal.”  She shucked the last of her clothes until only her small-clothes remained. “I’m too flawed to survive up there.”

“You don’t think you’ll resent me for dragging you down?”  You didn’t tame envy by fanning its flames, but oh if he could be allowed this moment of weakness.  She had already shed so much of her celestial exterior for him.  He didn’t want to be her world forever, only for this night.

Instead of responding, she slide off the last of her modesty.  From the foot of their bed, she crawled on all fours until she was perched in his lap.  Faintly her tongue traced the shell of his ear.  “As long as you know how to worship me properly.”

And so, Alm added idolatry to the list of his sins.

A.N. Religion is fascinating to me, especially in the context of Celica’s arc where her devotion remains yet she kills a god (and later gets imagined as one in her ending), I also for a dreamwidth event got challenged to write a story with a striptease in it, and this Bastille song has been in my head, so as usual I set about trying to weave together differing elements 

[nellie-elizabeth]

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: I'm Finding My Bliss (4x14)

Yep, another good episode. Who's surprised?

Cons:

This isn't actually a problem with the episode, but maybe a function of me not being able to get my head out of my ass, but I'm still finding it hard to wholeheartedly support the idea of Rebecca and Greg. Skylar Astin is doing a fantastic job, and whenever he's sharing scenes with other characters, I'm totally sold on this being Greg. But when he's with Rebecca, the energy and chemistry that they bring to the relationship just does not feel like a continuation of what they built back in Seasons One and Two. It's compelling in its own, way, but it feels like a separate thing.

I wish Valencia hadn't given Beth an ultimatum like that, but I suppose we'll wait and see what the fallout is in the next few episodes. I really should reserved judgment, and I thought Valencia had a fascinating journey in this episode, but I'm a little bit frustrated at the idea of Valencia and Beth's relationship ending in these last few episodes. We'll have to see what happens.

Pros:

Paula getting amazing job offers is so great! I'm genuinely happy for her. I saw someone else review this show and point out that in a less nuanced version of this same story, Paula would have seriously considered staying put because of her friendship with Darryl. Then, Darryl would have the realization about letting Paula go, and only with his blessing would Paula agree that it was time to move on. But no. Paula has worked very hard to achieve her dream, and here in this moment she knows that she's worth it. Of course she feels bad about hurting Darryl and leaving behind a place where she's worked for so long, but that doesn't mean she'd ever consider putting Darryl ahead of herself. That's huge, for a character who had to put her dreams on hold for such a long time. Also, just as a quick note, I love Darryl a lot. I love that he was able to come to terms with Paula leaving because he wants his friend to be happy. Sure, he might want to keep her around, but he would never try to manipulate her or guilt her into staying. I love him.

Another character I'm very happy for is Greg. He has something of a mini-arc in this episode where he realizes, with the help of the ever-wise Heather, that it's not West Covina that Greg has always had a problem with - it was just his own self-hatred. His business-school thesis project, to reopen his family's restaurant, goes well, and he decides he's going to stay in town and reopen the restaurant for real. I just want to say, that separate from his relationship with Rebecca, Greg coming back and realizing that this place can be home for him is quite moving. I had my doubts about Greg's return, since it seemed like he had genuinely found peace and happiness elsewhere. But this is a thing that happens to people - they grow, they change, and their thoughts and feelings grow with them. Whether or not Greg and Rebecca end up together in the end, I'm happy Greg has stuck around. Also, Skylar Astin's reprise of "Hey, West Covina" was absolutely beautiful. He's got an amazing voice, and his version really highlighted the joy of his epiphany.

Like I said, I'm torn about Valencia and Beth, but I do want to praise Gabrielle Ruiz's performance. This is something of a backslide for Valencia, as she suddenly pins all of her hopes and dreams on marriage, with the idea that all her problems will be solved if she can just get down the aisle. However, we also see how she has grown. She pouts and grumbles, but her relationship with Beth is built on real love and respect. She comes clean to Beth and tells her exactly how she's feeling, and while she might have been a bit more tactful about it, I still ultimately think this was proof of Valencia's growth.

Oh, Josh. This week, we see that both Josh and Nathaniel get involved with the local musical production in order to be around Rebecca. In a way, both of these men are doing the kind of thing Rebecca would have done to be around Josh in the earlier seasons of the show. However, there's a twist with both cases. With Josh, it's the fact that he doesn't go as far as Rebecca would go, and he just sort of quietly fails in his quest to connect with Rebecca. Sure, she's happy to see him and glad he's helping out, but they don't have a character moment or a beat where it looks like Josh is winning her over. I hope that we get to see an honest character resolution for Josh, because honestly, of the three main suitors I've got to say that Josh's continued interest in Rebecca is the most troubling. It's not founded on a real connection or real romantic feelings. It seems like Josh is acting out and needs to focus on his own personal growth. I don't like his behavior in this episode, but it's a "pro" in terms of the story's development, because I think we need to see Josh overcome these hurdles the same way we saw Rebecca do.

But then there's Nathaniel. He is also doing something a little over the top in order to spend time with Rebecca, but I honestly think his behavior, while a bit unhealthy, isn't the same type of twisted manipulation we've seen Rebecca use over the years. Sure, he lets himself get roped in to being a part of the musical, but we see that throughout the rehearsal process, Nathaniel doesn't do anything to make Rebecca feel smothered or uncomfortable. It's not just a smokescreen - he really does learn the song, and learns Rebecca's song too. He really does intend to be a part of this thing. And there's nothing inherently creepy or wrong about doing an activity to be around someone you care about, although I do admit it's problematic that he doesn't tell her this until the end of the episode. Here's the bottom line of the situation, though: when Nathaniel went out there to sing Rebecca's song with the changed lyrics, he wasn't doing it in order to win her affection. He was doing it to make her happy, because he cares about her and he could tell this was important to her. That's huge. I'm not necessarily rooting for these two to end up together, but I find the delicate and intricate relationship between them to be very fascinating and touching. Rebecca's line: "someone else is singing my song," was huge, by the way. Whatever ends up happening between these two, I think that was a great moment for both characters.

And we'll end with Rebecca, appropriately. This episode was huge for her character development. We start with a somewhat familiar concept - Rebecca has found something or someone that she thinks is going to make her whole life better - if she can just a) be with Josh or b) be with Greg or c) be with Nathaniel or d) devote herself to being single or e) open a pretzel shop and get out of the legal profession, or f) go back into musical theatre... then suddenly everything in her life is going to click and make perfect sense. That's the setup, and if we know Rebecca, she's going to go to any lengths to make sure that her dream comes true. She'll warp reality to suit her purposes and make the experience what she hoped it would be.

Except... she doesn't. She's not great a singing, and she knows that, but she gives it her all, and is really excited by the song that she gets. Then, while she starts to become disillusioned with the message and lyrics of the song, she still practices and comes to rehearsal and doesn't let everything get all dark and twisty. She tries to change the lyrics and take ownership of the song's message, and she doesn't have a total breakdown when things go wrong. At the end of the day, Rebecca's first experience getting back into musical theatre goes horribly. But she's okay. She's not losing her mind. She's processing, and she's disappointed, but she's not going to give up just because of this setback. That's huge. I think this is a great personal accomplishment for Rebecca, and it's not due just to Nathaniel's interference, or any other external force. It's thanks to all of the hard work she's put in to building herself a healthy life.

And that's that! I can't believe how close we are to the end. I'm going to be extra super-duper emotional when this show comes to an end, I can tell you that!

9/10

[theghostsalontapes]

Time Goes Backwards

So late Friday night, I went for a bite with a good friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. We hoped to dodge any drunken Cinco de Mayo foolishness by avoiding Mexican fare altogether, but when we arrived at the greasy spoon off the Highland Strip that was one of two places still open at that extreme hour, a DJ blasting salsa beats at top volume ended up driving us outside into the unseasonably frigid (for Memphis in springtime) night. We parked ourselves at a rickety metal table and continued the long, long talk we’d begun earlier in the evening; said friend is a musician whom I greatly respect, so I was eager for his opinion on a few matters. Among other things, we talked mixing challenges, DIY workarounds for lo-fi limitations, and of course this new album I’m working on. I vented my frustrations about having made less progress than I’d hoped thus far. And it helped, for whatever reason, as simply talking often does. Last night’s recording went much smoother than that of the previous weeks, and resulted in the first piece I’m considering actually putting on the album (For the time being, I put it in a folder marked ‘Definites?’). It’s a pretty good little piece, it achieves exactly what I set out to do, and hopefully this is a sign of even better results to come down the line. I feel encouraged by the considerable progress made.  The piece is a little over two-and-a-half minutes, likely to end up an interlude of sorts if it does end up making the album, and built around a gently-swelling bed of reversed, clean guitar chords, curling and echoing across the stereo field, lightly reverb’d and Dual Tape Deck’d. On this bed I built a few interlacing lead lines, added some delay, and maxed out the ‘Flutter’ tape simulation plug-in I love so much. I ended up recording one of these lines back to tape, and fed it back into the DAW, warbling in real-time with the pause button, letting the notes gleefully go off-track and lag behind the rest of the guitar sections, like a machine with broken gears and pulleys coming to slow and buzzing rest. A little dusty vinyl noise, some light EQ’ing, and that’s pretty much all she wrote. The real basis for the track is a dialogue sample, though, which runs the entire length of the piece. As I told my friend the other night, it’s difficult at times to make a dialogue sample match sonically with the music in a track, even if the content pairs well thematically. This time, I fed the sample through my trusty Izotope Vinyl plug-in, turned up the ‘wear’ controls to full wear, and set the age parameter to 1950, the RPM to 78. It aged the sample to the point I think it meshed well with the music of the piece, taking center-stage as intended without overpowering the guitars. The music and words play off each other well. We’ve used a great deal of samples and found sound/field recordings in Lost Trail, and in Nonconnah thus far. Sometimes they simply fill a space where vocals would go in a traditional song, and sometimes they significantly add to the emotional core of the music by saying something at just the right moment, over just the right sounds. One of the themes I repeatedly find myself fascinated by is that of passionate belief, especially unusual or extreme belief systems. Before I became a fairly devout Quaker in 2012, I was agnostic bordering on atheist my entire life, and joining the Friends only deepened my interest in the more radical side of religious mania. The Satanic Panic of the eighties and nineties, where parents and fundamentalist groups really threw themselves a field day blaming all sorts of social unrest and violence on heavy metal, horror cinema, and the occult, especially when it came to teenagers, is a subject of great fascination for me, an interesting (and thankfully fleeting) time in this country’s history that makes me think of the Puritans and their assumption that the great forest spreading beyond their isolated villages was populated by untold throngs of demons and witches. I don’t believe in a hell, nor demons, but I have always had a sense of another shadow world lurking beneath the surface of this one, barely glimpsed at times through the thin-stretched fabric of our decaying age, of the reality we construct over the real nature of forces at play beneath. I think passionate zealotry and extreme devotion to an ideology is a product of that tension, and Satanic Panic is a fearful example of people willing themselves to believe in a bogeyman, in something, anything, to blame for their teens being teens...whether it be that loud newfangled music or those gory movies. I find myself returning to this subject in my art time and time again. So this sample is a true gem, from a multi-part lecture series I found on YouTube concerning ‘signs of Satanic abuse’. There’s a real dichotomy between the soothing tones of the woman’s narration and the imaginary fantasies she’s enumerating. The section I used concerns the concept of ‘backwards programming’, i.e. spiritual brainwashing of a subject to encourage belief in opposing reactions to stimuli or perception. Up is down, left is right, pain is pleasure, time moves backwards, etc. This lecture goes to some really wild places - implantation of a ‘backwards room’ through ‘magic surgery’, the latter phrase tossed off in passing and never explained...it’d be funny if people didn’t actively persecute others using such outlandish and paranoid beliefs; we’re not far away from West Memphis, Arkansas, after all, where three innocent young men were jailed for the murders of a group of children based on zero evidence save for- ‘they look evil, and there’s rumors of Satanic cults around here.’ So for now I’m calling this little song ‘Magic Surgery’, because I find that phrase both hilarious and very haunting. This sample’s even given me a working title for the album, one I think may line up nicely with all the themes I hope to cover - For now, this album is called ‘The Backwards Room.’ ZC 

Listening to: Forest Swords - COMPASSION Reading: Rick Moody - GARDEN STATE Watching: FIVE CAME BACK, Netflix

[latestnews2018-blog]

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/there-were-zero-things-better-this-week-than-these-grandma-twins/

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet. 

The best thing I saw this week was this photo of two old women I’m going to assume are twins because they look exactly the same and are wearing matching pink outfits. If I’m wrong, sue me.

Why do I like it? I don’t know. I just do. Maybe it’s been a so-so week, but I can’t think of anything else that has brought me more joy. Look at their outfits! The shirts! The glasses! The hair! Are those called shorts or pants? Who cares! I love them!

My colleague Ashley Feinberg described this photo as “fucked up,” claiming “there’s no way you get to 80 and still keep buying matching outfits with your twin without something being extremely fucked up.” She is wrong. Sometimes two cute twins (presumably) are just two cute twins (presumably).

Do you know these twins? I would like to interview them. Thanks. ― Maxwell Strachan

Jonathan Chait’s BOFA Tweet

Twitter

On July 12, in the year of our Lord 2018, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, persecuted white man Jonathan Chait tweeted three perfect words: “What is BOFA?”

BOFA, as any self-hating internet user knows, is “bofa deez nuts.” It is the “What’s ‘updog’” prank, only vastly stupider and consequently infinitely funnier whenever an unsuspecting target takes the bait. Jonathan Chait took the bait, and the result was more beautiful than any of us could have ever hoped to deserve. 

Jonathan Chait, however, deleted his tweet — the tweet in which he asked, “What is BOFA?” — and deprived us of our constitutional right to dunk on Jonathan Chait. Just one more example of illiberal deplatforming from the radical left.

Anyway, congratulations to the remarkably damp Jonathan Chait on giving brief, beautiful life to a perfect tweet. We should all be so lucky. ― Ashley Feinberg

Sweet Soccer Boys Sharing Gentle Hugs

ALEXANDER NEMENOV via Getty Images

This week I wanted to recommend hate-watching (or more like “confused-watching”) Fox’s nightly special “World Cup Tonight,” but my editor made me turn it into a standalone blog. 

Instead, I will recommend a more healing aspect of the World Cup spectacle: watching the beautiful boys of soccer comfort and celebrate with each other through emotional embraces. Jezebel’s Sheena Raza Faisal saluted these loving clinches in a very on-point post that features not quite enough images of man hugs ― check the comments for more, especially England manager Gareth Southgate soothing Colombia’s Mateus Uribe after Uribe missed a crucial penalty kick in a shootout against England.

Boy, it sure is dusty in here, etc., etc. ― Claire Fallon

Glynnis MacNicol’s New Book

Illustration: HuffPost/Photo: Simon and Schuster

After hearing Glynnis MacNicol talk about her new memoir, Nobody Tells You This, at the Strand in New York City, I’ve had this one sentence stuck in my head. When asked about the plight of unmarried, childless women and our society’s treatment of them as somehow other or incomplete, MacNicol hit back with a statement that resonates with me still: “We look at women as a problem in need of a solution.”

In her book, MacNicol draws attention to the ways strangers feel they have a right to women’s bodies and lives in service of the ultimate goal, motherhood. The shame around it all, the general lack of freedom or agency, is really frightening. Although I have yet to read Nobody Tells You This, I’m excited to. And I’m ready to recommend it as a refreshing take on what life can be like for women who choose not to do what is expected of them. ― Anna Krakowsky

The Birth Of Kulture

Kulture ❤️❤️anything else woulda been basic 💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️Okrrrrr

— iamcardib (@iamcardib) July 12, 2018

Cardi B had the baby and her name is Kulture with a K. That’s self-explanatory Good Stuff. ― Julia Craven

When June Smacked The Shit Out Of Commander Waterford On “The Handmaid’s Tale”

In a moment when it feels like terrible men are trying to whittle away women’s rights on a near-daily basis, sometimes you just really want to see a lady righteously smack the shit out of a dude who deserves it. Enter the “Handmaid’s Tale” finale!

June (Elisabeth Moss), who has spent two seasons being psychologically tortured, raped and belittled by Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) ― a man who desperately wants to be powerful and desperately wants the approval of women he knows are better than him ― finally stops bottling up her rage and lets him have it, right across the face. I could watch this GIF on repeat for the next two years. ― Emma Gray

England’s Loss

WATCH: Mario Mandzukic scores the game winning goal in extra time to put Croatia in its first ever World Cup Final. #ENGCRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dnRpjSNPHo

— Jurado (@JuradoNYC) July 11, 2018

It’s not coming home. LOL. ― Travis Waldron

The Enya Song In “Eighth Grade”

You know a movie’s good when an Enya song pops up in a pivotal scene. But even without “Orinoco Flow,” Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” would be an indie masterpiece ― one you should definitely, totally, run to the theater to see.

It follows “Most Quiet” superlative winner Kayla (Elsie Fisher) during her last week of eighth grade, as she tries to come to grips with her social anxiety and lackluster lifestyle before high school. Behind her phone, she’s confident, even funny. But in real life, Kayla is quiet, a loner. Burnham allows viewers to study her every move in a tech-obsessed world while contemplating their own adolescent memories. It’s beautiful, raw and utterly sweet. ― Leigh Blickley

Megan Amram’s Emmy-Nominated Web Series

Please watch “An Emmy for Megan,” a hilarious and weirdly poetic exercise in doing the bare minimum, while remaining utterly extra. The concept is simple: Writer Megan Amram, best known for her work on “The Good Place” and Twitter, decides she reeeeally wants to win an Emmy Award. (It’s her favorite award!) So at the last minute, she decides to write, direct and star in a short web series about making a short web series to win an Emmy.

The six episodes, under 10 minutes each and created in the week leading up to the submissions deadline, use the constraints of the Emmy requirements like forms of meter and verse. There are tears and tantrums and alcohol-fused meltdowns and even a surprise MUTINY along the short (so short) way.

Amram’s feat is not only hilarious but effective. On Thursday, the series was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Actress in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series and Outstanding Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series. Don’t sleep on the most inspiring tale of our time. ― Priscilla Frank

A Podcast About A Cult

When I was a kid, my best friend’s name was Robin, which was kind of weird because my mom’s childhood best friend’s name was Robin. The difference between my Robin and my mother’s Robin (aside from their being entirely separate humans) was that the latter ended up in a “Wild Wild Country”-ish cult.

My mom told me the story of her friend’s descent into Cult Town, U.S.A., and the teen girl power rescue mission that boldly extricated her a million times. Everything about it fascinated me. For a while, I actually thought it was a cosmic inevitability that my Robin would end up in a cult from which I’d need to liberate her. Anyway, she didn’t. But “The Gateway” is a good podcast about a cult. ― Katherine Brooks

Road Trip Music

Over the past few years, there’s been renewed interest in the work of John Fahey, the instrumentalist who put American primitive guitar on the map. As the genre has surged in popularity, acolytes and like-minded explorers have come out of the woodwork. Specialty labels have reissued private-press recordings that had long since gone out of print. It seems as though every town had an uncelebrated devotee of these obscure, mystical tunings. Worshipful but questioning, celestial and homespun, primitive guitar uses repetition and drone to access the pleasures and enlightenment of devotional music.

In April, Fahey’s hometown of Takoma Park, Maryland (just outside D.C.), honored the genre he helped create with a multiday festival. Lauding his work, it also shone a light on others who followed a similar path, devoting years to decoding the light and limber picking of Mississippi John Hurt and replicating the primal thump of Reverend Gary Davis. It was only fitting that one of this generation’s best pickers showed up ― Marisa Anderson, a guitarist based in the Pacific Northwest.

Anderson recently released a new album, “Cloud Corner,” which should be her breakthrough. She does something that I think most Fahey followers miss. She captures his melancholy, favoring mood as much as speed and technique. Her songs put you in places and moments. One song off an earlier album, she has said, is a tribute to her favorite swimming hole in Kentucky.

The new record lands on weightier subjects like the Syrian refugee crisis while other tunes process Tuareg-style playing through her fuzzy, electric style. But mostly, the songs ring clear, notes hushed or plucked pure. The album is meant for one of the few modes of escape where we can all still worship in peace: the road trip. ― Jason Cherkis

And Finally, The Women Of Color Who Dominated The Emmy Noms

Noam Galai via Getty Images

Sandra Oh was nominated for her role in “Killing Eve.”

This week in Good Stuff for me was the plethora of amazingly talented women of color who got Emmy nominations for best and supporting actress, including Sandra Oh (the first Asian woman to be nominated for lead actress in a drama), Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Zazie Beetz, Letitia Wright and my queen Thandie Newton. ― Zeba Blay

Get last week’s Good Stuff here.

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[samjbatty]

Comparing and contrasting the treatment of love in the Song of Songs and the Symposium. Contextualized by considering the different literary forms employed, and the times and places in which they were produced.

It is widely accepted that modern Western society is a culmination and combination of ancient Greek culture and Hebrew or “Bible” culture. The conglomeration took place when both cultures came into contact in the late 4th century – around 332 BC. Over time, the two civilizations began to adopt aspects of the other society and try to reconcile their moral and academic differences, dismissing those that could not be reinterpreted. Two notable works of these societies are the Holy Bible and Plato’s Symposium. Both contain a number of writings on the idea of Love. Since there are so many stories of love in these works, and since the works are both clearly products of their very differing societies, it is enlightening to compare the two. In the essay I will aim to compare and contrast the exploration of love in these works, focusing on the Song of Songs from the Holy Bible and Aristophanes and Socrates’ speeches from the Symposium.

 Before analyzing the differences between portrayals of love in the books, it is important to have an understanding of the cultures from which they came. The idea of Hebrew culture comes mainly from the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. It was a moralistic society that put a ‘blind’ faith in God. The people followed the strict doctrine laid out in the holy book and dared not to question its teachings. The hierarchical structure of their society held God in esteem at the top, with saints and prophets below him with ‘mortals’ at the bottom. In Hebrew culture, there was no opportunity for progression or promotion, meaning mortals could not aspire to be anything higher than themselves. Saints and prophets gained their title through the most revered characteristics in the Holy Bible – humility, shame and piety. They became higher than mortals purely by their devotion to not being god-like, their constant remorse and their admiration of God. The Christians believed the Holy Bible to be the word of God and therefore an official view of how things are and how they ought to act.

 This is a stark contrast to Greek culture, which above all-else believed in competition. The foundations of Greek culture were built upon self-improvement and progression. Their gods were beings who could be - and were often - challenged by heroes. Successful heroes were the ones who did not obey common morality to pursue their passions. These heroes fascinated the mortals and were often glorified and held to the same regard as the gods. Mortals could become heroes and heroes could become god-like. Knowledge in Greek culture was viewed as another path to achieving god-like status, and so creative thinking, philosophy and storytelling were also viewed as admirable. Stories from this society were told to explain why ‘something’ is the way it is; this was often in more emotional than literal context. The stories invited dispute and discussion and were focused on human nature unlike the Holy Bible in which human stories were of no value. As such, the Grecian stories could often be interpreted as ‘How-to’ guides for progressing to a higher state. Finally, the Greeks believed heavily in allegory and their stories having a deeper meaning instead of taking the words at face value as Hebrew culture did with the Holy Bible.

 The Song of Songs is a poem found in the Old Testament of the Holy Bible. It is often accredited to King Solomon, however it is highly unlikely he is the true poet and the “Song’s daring erotic character and the fact that God is not even mentioned” (Perdes, 2013) make it more probable that this was a popular love poem that made its way into the Holy Bible in the times that the book was a collection of scrolls. Pardes claims the song is so popular in modern culture that “Between the 1930s and the 1950s, at least one hundred different musical adaptations of the verses of the Song were composed” (2013). The poem celebrates the love between an unnamed man and woman and can be read as an expression of sexuality. This concerned many members of the Christian and Jewish faiths as it seemed to directly discredit many of the Holy Bible’s teachings of purity and using sex only as a means of reproduction. This lead to an unusual approach to the biblical text as it is usually read as an allegory for mankind’s strong love and adoration for God. Some critics such as Brenner choose to view it as a metaphor: “human love is what it is and, simultaneously, a reflection of divine love.” (1993). The poem mostly employs use of metaphor and similes to illuminate its idea of love. Phrases such as “thy love is better than wine”, “thy name is as ointment poured forth” and “I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses” (The Holy Bible, Song of Songs, 1:2, 3 and 9), all make a comparison between either the lovers or their feelings and objects of finery and expense. Wine and ointment were extremely new and exotic liquids during biblical times and the horses would have been considered strong and majestic. The theme of expense and luxury is found consistently throughout the poem, particularly in Chapter 5. Items such as “fine gold”, “doves”, “bed of spices”, “flowers”, gold rings”, “ivory”, “sapphires” and “pillars of marble” (The Holy Bible, Song of Songs, 5:11, 12, 13, 14, and 15) are listed. This semantic field gives us an idea of what the Christians consider to be worthy of a comparison to love and therefore give us an understanding of how they view the emotion.

 No matter how Song of Songs is interpreted, the treatment of love is clear – it is a luxury that mortals could never possess. If taken literally, the poem focuses on the love between a King and one of his many wives. They flaunt their wealth and power through the comparisons made and it is because they have these luxuries that they can experience such love. When read allegorically, the poem seems to be suggesting that God’s love and the perfect devotion to God is an experience that can only be imagined through correlation to worldly opulence. It humbles the reader to remember that God’s superior love is an indicator of his superior power. It is also notable that Song of Songs never questions the love or its cause. We, as readers, are forced to accept the love and wonder at its power and opulence, despite its mystery.

 The speeches in Symposium are the complete antithesis of this. I have decided to focus on Aristophanes and Socrates’ speeches to explore the depiction of love in Greek culture, as I believe they show the variety of views on love but are also complimentary to one another. The Symposium is a book written by Plato based upon a Greek drinking party called a Symposium. At these parties, conversation was the main focus and each guest was usually required to give their take on the chosen topic. Warner believes this results in a book, which “appears to culminate in the paradoxes” (1979). In Plato’s book the topic of the symposium was love. Aristophanes, a comic playwright in Grecian times, gives the first of my chosen speeches. He attempts to explain the longing we feel for a partner by telling the listeners that in ancient times humans were round beings with four arms and legs and two faces. In this time “the sexes were not two as they are now, but originally three in number.” (Plato, n.d.) These sexes were two men, two women and one of each – known as Androgynous. Aristophanes claims these beings posed a threat to the gods due to their “Terrible […] might and strength” (Plato, n.d.). In order to quell their attack but retain the worship they received from the mortals, Zeus decided to split the beings in half – leaving each being with only one face, two legs and arms and one set of genitalia. He turned their heads around so they could face the scarring on their bodies to remind them of their hubris. The humans became distraught at their separation and began to cling onto one another, longing to return to their previous form. This led to the death of many of the humans as they devoted their life to rejoining their mate and refused to eat or drink or move. In order to preserve the race, Aristophanes believed that Zeus “turned the sexual organs round to the front” (Plato, n.d.), so the humans could be intimate and thus fulfill their need to become one. This allowed the beings to reproduce, if they were previously Androgynous thus attracted to their opposite, and also “go their ways to the business of life” (Plato, n.d.). Aristophanes ends his speech with the phrase “[Man] is always looking for his other half”, thus summarizing his view on love in Greek culture.

 In his speech, Aristophanes attempt to explain the concept of desire to his drinking partners. Desire, in Grecian culture, had a much stronger meaning than “a want” as it has come to mean in modern society. Instead, the Greeks believed that desire was more of a need that someone would go to any lengths to fulfill. This can be seen in the way that the humans “were on the point of dying […] because they did not like to do anything apart” (Plato, n.d.). This relates to the aspect of Greek culture that believes in sacrificing everything to achieve one’s goal. It is the same train of thought that drives their heroes to become such. Aristophanes using the concept of Greek desire to explain love highlights how important love was to the Grecian people. It is held in high esteem and viewed as admirable if one were to find their other half.

 At first this seems to directly contradict Socrates’ view on love. Socrates was Plato’s mentor and a well-known philosopher of the time. His speech is a retelling of a story he heard from a priestess named Diotima. He describes the origin of Eros, the god of love. Sandford reinforces the idea that Greek culture was used as a basis for our own by pointing out that the name Eros has been adopted into many words such as “erotic” in the English Language (2006). Eros was born of Plenty and Poverty and is “neither beautiful nor ugly, good nor bad […] but an intermediary between the human and divine worlds” (Plato, n.d.). Thus, Socrates claims that humans, who desire, always desire goodness. The desire to reproduce is a desire for immortality meaning “those fertile in their body beget human children” and “those fertile in soul produce philosophical knowledge, poems and laws” (Plato, n.d.). Socrates, Diotima and by extension Eros seem to place a higher importance on the idea of something than a physical example of the thing, they believe that the physical is ever-changing - including oneself as Warner identifies (1979) - which renders it meaningless. In terms of love, Socrates seems to be suggesting that true love is not a physical concept but instead a philosophical one. In contrast to Aristophanes, who believes desire drives humans into an endless search for their soul mate who will bring them happiness, Socrates suggests that finding happiness in a physical person is meaningless and that happiness should come from thought and philosophy. The two stories seem to compete against one another with one saying that true love is a higher plane of thought whereas the other states that true love lies in a soul mate. However, when viewed through the lens of Greek culture, the two have much in common in terms of their portrayals of love. This is because both speeches characterize love as a goal that must be achieved through discipline and dedication. Levy also points out that the Symposium suggests that “loving others well is sufficient for self-knowledge.” (1979). This is typical of Greek culture, which above all believed in self-improvement and promotion.

 In conclusion, the lavish portrayal of love found in Song of Songs is an example of God’s exclusive love that mortals cannot experience and must never question whereas the speeches of Symposium give opposing accounts of love which all present it as an objective that must be achieved. It is possible to find examples of both kinds of love in modern society – fairytales and celebrity couples are an exaggerated example of love similar to Song of Songs which has now become an important part of both secular and religious wedding ceremonies (Pardes, 2013). Modern love songs and Valentine’s Day cards, which claim, “you complete me”, are evolutions of Aristophanes’ speech in Symposium. The treatment of love in Song of Songs and Symposium are vastly different yet are entirely representative of the cultures from which they came.

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References and Bibliography:

 Brenner, A. (1993). To See Is To Assume: Whose Love Is Celebrated in the Song of Songs?. Biblical Interpretation, 1(3), pp.265-284.

 Levy, D. (1979). The Definition of Love in Plato's Symposium. Journal of the History of Ideas, 40(2), p.285.

 Ly Tran, T. (2011). Expressions of the particular terms of love in the Song of Songs. Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, 25(2), pp.234-259.

 Pardes, I. (2013). Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies : Agnon's Moonstruck Lovers : The Song of Songs in Israeli Culture. 1st ed. Washington D.C.: University of Washington Press.

 Plato., and Jowett, B. (n.d.). Symposium. 1st ed. Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg. [online] Available at: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html [Accessed 5 January 2017].

 Sandford, S. (2010). Plato and sex. 1st ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Sandford, S. (2006). Sexually Ambiguous. Angelaki, 11(3), pp.43-59.

 Sandford, S. (2005). Thinking Sex Politically: Rethinking "Sex" in Plato's Republic. South Atlantic Quarterly, 104(4), pp.613-630.

 Shabad, P. (2007). Symposium on Personal Agency and the Limits of Analytic Love. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 43(4), pp.584-586.

 Taylor, C. (2011). Platonic Sex?. New Formations, 73(73), pp.138-141.

 The Holy Bible [King James Version] (1611). [online] Available at: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org [Accessed 5 January 2017].

 Warner, M. (1979). Love, Self, and Plato's Symposium. The Philosophical Quarterly, 29(117), p.329.