#so maybe i could post my song analyses and how i connect them to certain characters

[cookies-over-yonder]

here's my hermie playlist so far 😍 if y'all have suggestions hmu

[aurorabyler]

Masterpost: Stranger Things Theories (Mainly Byler)

Hi everyone!! I've been missing making theories and the energy of summer 2022 (and just any stranger things release era for that matter), so I thought I'd compile my theories and important posts into one big master post! Enjoy, and feel free to share :) I can't wait to make more theories and analyses once we get more content.

Will's First Lie and First I Love You: Musical Symbolism Analysis

This one is a personal favourite of mine--I really recommend you check it out. The Stranger Things soundtrack is more than just pretty synthwave songs...it is integral to the story and the repetition and remixing of certain soundtracks really shows the amount of love and care that has gone into the show. This post describes the connection between the songs "The First Lie," "The First I love You," and "Being Different."

Flashbacks in Stranger Things: When, Why, and How They Are Used (Long Analysis)

This analysis applies a lot of key writing skills to a byler-focused analysis, with an emphasis on the varying use of flashback as a literary device across the show. From my analysis, you'll see that the way flashbacks have been used across Stranger Things, and particularly season 4, tell an interesting story about the more "real" relationships in the show.

Destruction: Byler's Repeating Musical Motif (With Video!)

I feel like this post is kind of underrated, but it's such an important musical symbolism moment, much like "The First Lie..Love You...Being Different" connection! It's yet another repeating musical motif that actually spans THREE seasons of the show and started in season one. Give it a read (and a watch!)

Comparing David Harbour and Noah Schnapp's Interviews About ST5

There are quite a few striking similarities between the way Noah and David have spoken about the end of Stranger Things. Check them out here!

Interpreting the Surfer Boy Pizza Scene: Leading Up to Breakup

This analysis looks at the scene between Mike and El at surfer boy pizza and argues that if it was leading up to an "I love you" or them getting back together, there needed to be more emotional buildup to that during El's time at the Nina project or Mike's on the road.

Will Byers Has the Power Vecna Needs to Deal with What He Hates Most: Time Itself

Ooooh, I love this one too! This theory looks at the pretty much inevitable relationship between Will and Vecna, and how time could play a key role in that.

Parallels Between El and Will Feeling Different

A short one, but this is a key parallel between how El and Will both feel different, and how Mike responds to that.

Significance of "A Book of Letters"

Why it's important that Will specifically mentions El having "a book of letters" from Mike.

Willel: I'd Get Him to Swap Our Places

My thoughts on willel and the potential significance of "Running Up That Hill" to their connection

"You're The Heart" and "Her Heart Stopped"

A little analysis of the connection between Mike's failed monologue and Max's heart stopping.

Brenner and Mike: Superhero Discussion Parallels

I feel like this topic is underrated in the fandom generally, but it deserves more attention as it's probably one of the most outright parallels that we have...lol...it's literally spoonfed to us. Give it a read :)

My Fan Expo Audio of Finn Talking About Mike's Pocket

Just a fun little addition! Fan Expo was such a fun experience :)

Thoughts on Response to Finn's Acting From GA and Implications for Byler

"Finn is expressionless during Melvin scenes!" yeah...maybe because that's the point? LOL

Me Roasting Mike's Arc if Taken At Face Value

Just....LOL. It's just funny.

Endgame Ships Not Needing to Say "I Love You"

What do the seemingly endgame ships have in common? They show, not tell their love for each other.

I hope you enjoy reading my posts! <3

[btsandvmin]

Sometimes when I'm close to my delulu self I think the reason why they seem to hold back from 'what they say vs what they do' (vacations and stuffs, their whole relationship in general) its cause they are waiting for the E stuff to happen and once they are free without repercussions for their behavior they can do whatever tf they want But I stop the train of thought in case I sound too crazy, even in my head lol Do you think they are waiting for something? Am I going crazy? Maybe...

I mean, honestly if any ship in BTS would be real (or even if we just talk about any of them being LGBT+ at all) I think they would wait until after enlistment with letting the public know yes (if that is what they choose to do at all). Not only because being queer in the military can lead to a lot of problems, but also just for BTS’s career in general. That being said it’s difficult to say if their current behavior (if interpreted by us correctly) would be becuase there is something but they have decided not to act on it at all yes. It could make things a bit ambiguous... But with the way Vmin are, in particular nowadays, they seem pretty certain with what they have since they use strong statements like soulmates and wanting to be together for the rest of their lives.

I don’t think being done with their enlistment means they can do whatever they want though... Being LGBT+ in Korea the way it is now can’t be easy, and definitely not for idols who can’t even date when they are hetero.

I am hoping things will change in Korea and that BTS (with the immense soft power and influence they have) will be able to be who they are freely and proudly if any of them are LGBT+ (which I still think is likely considering things they have said and done).

Stopping thoughts is a good exercise to hold things back, but I do want to say again that speculating and wondering about things is not really bad. It’s all how you do it and if you push it on others, or if you are so convinced a truth opposite of your belief would hurt you. Otherwise theorizing and speculating is natural, and even opens up for healthy discussion and change when done right. So don’t worry, as long as you don’t go too far getting these thoughts is nothing weird or crazy.

As for Vmin in particular I find it very interesting that they both have made it sound like they are waiting for something at different times/in different context. Not together, but even so it’s something that does stand out to me in the whole Vmin possibly being real perspective.

Jimin’s letter to himself in Malta: 

“What I wanted to say. Be next to people I want to be with. Do things I want to do for a long time. Do everything I want to do later. It will happen at some point. Stop being a kid.”

There is a lot of things that could imply waiting for or hoping for something in the future in some of their songs as well. I mean, I’ll raise you one on the delulu scale if their songs really are connected and about each other.

Sharing my fragile truth That I still hope the door is open' Cause the window Opened one time with you and me Now my forever's falling down Wondering if you'd want me now

And would it be alright if I Pulled you closer

I still wonder wonder beautiful story Still wonder wonder best part I still wander wander next story I want to make you mine 

As if we were waiting We bloom until we ache

Come to my side now So we can become one I don't want to let go- no

Happy Christmas, at the end of this Winter There’s Christmas meant for you and me

It's coming today What else should I prepare? I’m ready to greet you, ok (Ok)

May the flowers land on your smile Below the streetlamp frozen in time (Yeah-e)

Oh I been waitin' for this Christmas Day My heart is already on this white street It snowed in my dream last night You've been waiting all day under the covers

If anyone is listening to me Will you let the time stop now?

I've been waiting for you all this time Can you stay with me a little bit longer? 

Wanna get to the other side of the earth, holding your hand Wanna put an end to this winter How much longing should we see snowing down To have the days of spring, Friend

One day when this cheer dies down, stay You are my soulmate For eternity, keep staying here, stay

Sorry for the mess.. I just wanted all of the lyrics mixed together like this for effect. I will make a proper analysis at some point because by now almost all my song analyses are outdated. I will also talk a lot about this theme in my Spring Day analysis I am currently working on. But yeah... You aren’t really alone in thinking about how Vmin might be waiting for something. 

I know time and waiting and all of these things and statements are too general to really be applied to specifically Vmin waiting to be able to be together “properly” but it’s not like it’s impossible for that to be partly what it is either. There is just a lot we don’t know, and a lot of things BTS says that can be vague enough to mean many things. So I am sure all shippers will pick and apply these things in whatever way fits their own narrative. Still, they work with Vmin in many ways.

Let’s just say to me it seems Vmin are currently stuck in winter, and they have decided to enjoy it for now while they wait for their spring to come.

What we do know is that Vmin want to be together even after BTS, and that is wonderful. If they are also waiting to be together in a way they can’t fully be at the moment, well we are all free to speculate there. Just keep it civil and enjoyable. :) Thanks for the ask, hope you enjoyed the mess. This is just what happens when I answer asks instead of making full posts. Sorry. ^^’’’

[the-blue-fairie]

I sometimes feel like being in fandoms makes people see things in black and white. Everything becomes an “either/or” situation. You are either for something or against something, pro a storytelling aspect or character or anti a storytelling aspect or character. The nature of fandom tags on tumblr kind of cultivates this attitude. In order to categorize your thoughts on your blog, you need simple phrases that help with easy categorization, so that’s why we get things like “pro-this movie” or “anti-this movie” or “pro-this character” or “anti-this character.” But the simplistic quality of such categorizations kills nuanced analysis - or makes it more difficult to enunciate one’s thoughts when they fall into a grey zone.

I’ve written a fair number of analyses of Frozen on this blog and they’ve been met with a lovely and positive reception. But because, as I’ve said in the past, I have mixed feelings about F2, I always worry about how other people will read my posts. Will they think I am being too negative about the film and then question me when I profess to like it? Will they feel I’m being too positive and call into question my critiques? Depending on their perspectives, how will other people try to categorize me?

It’s not merely anxiety on my part - although anxiety makes it worse. In the past, sometimes my words have been misconstrued by others or, in other cases, I’ve not explained myself clearly enough and so they’ve been taken for something outside my intent. This has exacerbated my anxiety at times because I feel I walk a fine line where I both agree and disagree with all sides in the fandom to a certain degree. But that nebulousness defies easy categorization, so I always worry people will look and my posts and think things like...

Oh, you feel F2 didn’t  reflect enough on how Agnarr and Iduna’s actions hurt their daughters? Does that mean you’re anti Agnarr and Iduna? No. I love Agnarr and Iduna dearly. I think they are incredibly rich and compelling characters. I also think that the backstory F2 gives them only makes them more interesting characters, giving them layers that go beyond the layers they already had from their limited presence in the first film. I also think that Agnarr and Iduna are good people and that they loved their daughters dearly, that they were caught in a terrible position and did everything to protect their daughters. And I further think that, given the time to come to terms with their parents’ actions, it’s perfectly valid for Elsa and Anna to still love them. As I said before, they are good people with their own fears for the future, wanting to protect their children. But I also feel that, by ignoring Agnarr’s and Iduna’s role in the sisters’ separation as children (and actually, by avoiding discussion the childhood events altogether), F2 never allows Elsa and Anna to come to terms with their parents’ actions. It never acknowledges their parents’ part in the hurt the sisters experienced as children (and, of course, it never acknowledges the trolls’ part in it either, even though the trolls were acting as guides for the king and queen and all their choices impacted the lives of these two children negatively.) It never acknowledges that people can love you - and still hurt you. And it never gives the sisters’ closure for that even though the narrative of F2 is all about their parents and (Elsa, at least) finding some form of closure with Iduna. But, in spite of my issues with the narrative, I like Agnarr and Iduna as characters - ESPECIALLY Iduna, whose backstory in F2 makes her fascinating.

Oh, you feel Elsa’s arc in F2 could have been written better? Does that mean you’re anti-Elsa/”Elsa-critical?” No. When I say that Elsa’s arc could have been written better, I am criticizing the structural elements that make up her arc, not criticizing Elsa herself. In fact, it’s my love for the character of Elsa that inspires my meditation on her arc. I’ve loved and deeply related to Elsa since the first film. Even when people got to rolling their eyes at the oversaturation of Let it Go, I’ve always kept the song close to my heart because it means something to me. I actually don’t particularly care for the tag “Elsa critical” because I think people using that tag are sometimes too quick to condemn Elsa for things when they should be condemning pacing issues in F2 or writing issues that made the writers’ intent unclear or moments that feel slightly OOC for Elsa compared to the first film.

And keep in mind, when I say “moments that feel slightly OOC for Elsa,” I’m not saying that Elsa feels “completely OOC” the way some people do or trying to dismiss what the writers were trying to do for her character. There are actually elements in F2 with Elsa that I feel are great character elements and they should not be disregarded - but there is also a dubious focus on her connection to the abstract concept of magic instead of her connection to other people. This undercuts some of the strong character moments that do exist in the film. 

And again, keep in mind, when I say, “a focus on the abstract concept of magic rather than her connection with other people,” I’m not saying that Elsa loses her humanity in F2. She doesn’t. There are still moments that show her humanity and her human connections with other people. What I’m saying is that those human elements take a backseat to her connection to Ahtohallan, which does a disservice to her arc and its emotional impact, in my opinion.

Oh, you feel that aspects of the ending of F2 feel unearned to a certain degree? That sounds like you dislike F2. Didn’t you say you liked F2? Which is it? Are you just trying to confuse people? No, I’m not trying to confuse people. It’s just that you can like certain aspects of a film and dislike others, feel parts of a film were well-done and other parts less so. My feelings on F2 are... complicated. I love Anna as queen of Arendelle, I think she makes an amazing queen. A part of me wants Elsa to stay in Arendelle because I like the idea of the sisters being physically together and I feel the films and shorts have built a better connection between Elsa and the people of Arendelle than Elsa and the Forest. BUT, at the same time, I deeply love the Northuldra and want to see both Elsa and Anna bond with their mother’s people more and I love the idea of Elsa living with the Northuldra and connecting with them. My issue is the film doesn’t emphasize building Elsa’s connection with the Northuldra when that is the most emotionally resonant human element that connects her to the Forest. I actually want to see more of the Northuldra in F2′s narrative to give the ending greater depth.

(Also, I think it’s a shame that the film kind of brushes aside Anna’s connection to the Northuldra and her making bonds with her mother’s people. I know the film wants to set up Anna’s connection to Arendelle to foreshadow her taking the queenship but... both is good, as I’ve said in other posts.)

And I guess that’s what separates me from other people who dislike the ending. Yes, I’ve said that I prefer the sisters being physically together, but I’m not against F2′s ending on principle the way some people are. F2′s ending could work perfectly with a few rewrites to the narrative. I like it in concept, but not execution. I love Anna’s arc and Elsa’s arc has beautiful elements, conceptually at least. I love the idea of her being able to broaden her horizons and meet new people. The trouble is, the film doesn’t emphasize her bonding with those new people and writes them out of the narrative for no good reason for the second half of the film. And because I feel that Elsa’s connections with other human beings are what help me relate to her, more than the abstract concept of her individuality and abstract connections to magic and the spirits, that makes the ending of the film ring a little hollow for me. Especially when the sense of emotional connection I feel to the sisters reconnecting in Frozen Fever is so much stronger to me on a personal level than F2. (That last sentence I mentioned is personal feeling, but I hope that otherwise, I have supported my perspective with references to the text that readers feel are valid.)  

Again, I’m not trying to take anything away from people who love Elsa’s arc and the film in general. There are many things I love about it. myself I recognize the beauty they see in it and I value that beauty.

I apologize. Maybe this is just rambling born of my anxiety - or reiteration of points I’ve made before. But I hope, if you read this, you feel I discuss these things with clarity, respect, and fairness for different perspectives. Thank you.

[thesunnyshow]

Name: reya

Writing Blog URL(s): @chu-ni

Age: 19

Nationality: african-british

Languages: english, swahili, korean

Star Sign: libra

MBTI: enfp/entp (it always changes lol)

Favorite color: purple!

Favorite food: i really love chicken burgers

Favorite movie: princess and the frog

Favorite ice cream flavor: vanilla!!

Favorite animal: elephants

Go-to karaoke song: fancy - twice

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? caramel frappe with whipped cream, in general i prefer tea though

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? secretary general at the UN….or an author

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? making anyone agree with me and do what i want them to do

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? ancient egypt!!

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?.....no.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? neither if i could lmfao but i’d go for 100 chicken sized horses

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? the nerd who’s actually really pretty after she gets a cool makeover 

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? im not sure about aliens, but i definitely believe in ghosts and spirits.

What are some small things that make your day better? when i can have moments to myself to enjoy my own company. or when someone asks me what i want to eat and they bring it for me 🥺

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? uhm…...probably the fact that i write fanfiction lol..but outside of that! i sing in the shower. and i talk to myself a lot.

What fandom(s) do you write for? nct dream currently, but in the future i want to expand to other groups!

When did you post your first piece? 17th of June 2018.

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? i can never write just one genre. predominantly i write fluff with a dash of angst for spice simply because i love a story that has an issue and then having that issue be resolved for a happy ending. when i started my blog i was 17, and so i said i wouldn't write smut. now that i'm older im feeling more and more comfortable writing suggestive content at the very LEAST.. so maybe in the future i might write smut, who knows? i like writing fluff because i like making people feel good, but i like adding angst to it because i feel like the contrast between the two is very *chefs kiss* to me.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? i only write x readers!

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? i first got tumblr when i was 13 years old and i was a fresh kpop fan lmfao. i wanted somewhere that shared my interests. of course i discovered x reader fics on here and i was in awe, i guess of how much power writers had in contributing to fandom content and keeping readers satiated. i’d always loved to write and so i’d always wanted to start my own writing blog, and for 2 years i did write for other blogs! it wasnt until 2018 that i finally took the leap and decided to start my own, because i wanted to impact people's emotions and take them on a journey through my writing.

What inspires you to write? what inspires me….teen movies, music!! music is a big one for me, and also the books that i read. i also grew up playing otome games so the plots and writing from those influence my writing a lot.

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? i really enjoy writing royalty!aus as well as exes!aus. i love to do them cause they require me to build a world and with royalty aus specifically i love weaving together bits of political intrigue, or arranged marriages, etc. its so much fun!!

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? that if this world is too rough or too much, you can always escape from it. it might not be physical, but immersing yourself in a universe that's entirely different for a little while can help soothe you.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? usually i try and take breaks. the problem with that is that my breaks can go on for longer than i’d like and im trying to fix that. so my other solution is to read read read!! read as much as i can, or go back to books that i loved. ask myself what i liked about the writing, what are some parts that i thought were amazing examples of good writing - i note them down then see if i can apply that to my own work. another thing i do is take a break from writing my longer, fleshed out works and write blurbs! blurbs are a great way for me to write but not feel like its tedious because i don't have to spend as much time on them and it gets me into the groove of writing without feeling stressed out.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? my favourite piece of work is miscommunication. it took me months to write that, even after i lost all the work halfway through, and its the longest piece of work i have written so far, so its kinda like my baby. my most successful is candy jar. its also the work i owe my blog exposure to - it was the first piece i published, and it was also the first piece of writing i did in around 4 years.

Who is your favorite person to write about? i don't have much out for them, but i really enjoy exploring mark’s and jeno’s characters. they're people, but in my work i enjoy analysing them and judging how they’d act in different contexts.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? the only difference for me is that fanfiction (depending on the fandom) has some of the stuff fleshed out for you already, such as the world its in. if youre the type to write AUs then the only thing you already have is the characters - the planning, the writing, the drafting, and everything else is still the writer's responsibility. therefore there isn't much of a difference between the two for me.

What do you think makes a good story?  a good story, to me, is one that takes me on a journey. it could be any genre, but i like to feel immersed and connected to the characters and the world in it. also aside from the obvious, like good grammar, a good story feels natural to read. i don't feel like skim reading half of it.

What is your writing process like? my writing process consists of me getting inspiration - usually from a song, or a film or a book ive read or a game ive played - i note down my idea and who i want the story to be about, and then bullet point the whole story, with some snippets of particular dialogue i want the reader or the other person to say at certain scenes. i then open another document ( i have a writing app on my phone, called werdsmith, so i use that!) and set a word count goal i want to hit so i can track my progress and start writing the fic, with fleshed out language and exposition. when im done (usually after a couple weeks up to a few months, depends on the length of the plan) i read through it to fix any mistakes, then i transfer it to docs so i can read it again and italicise any areas i feel need it.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? i...don't think so. mainly because the original fiction i read and would like to write for myself is predominantly fantasy, whereas the fanfic i write on my blog is usually non-idol, normal fics. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? im a SUCKER for enemies to lovers, royalty ofc, “and they were roommates”, and i think superhero aus are really cool but there isnt enough of them :( idol/you as member aus....not feeling her… also abo/werewolf/vampire aus….not feelin em

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? a LOT. a HUGE amount!! i said before how i like giving my readers somewhere where they can immerse themselves as an escape, even for a short while. hearing about how my work affected them, made them feel, makes me feel less insecure about what im writing and thus more confident to publish it.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? i’d say reblogs. and also putting out more content. when i first uploaded candy jar i went to my one of my favourite writers (jaeminlore) and asked her if she'd be okay with reading it and giving feedback. to my surprise she loved it and her reblogging it to all her followers is literally what gave me a bunch of followers all of a sudden who loved what i’d written. to keep that momentum i created more and more content, and while i haven't uploaded as often as i've wanted to or written as much as i’d wanted to, i can say i have a good amount of work on my masterlist for people who are looking for more to read.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? 100%. fanfic has an unfair reputation for just having bad writing and cringey fics (and i feel like this is because of the way society views the demographics who predominantly consume and create it), when in reality i feel like those who write fanfiction are extremely talented and selfless people. they're on the internet creating content for free for people to enjoy and like any other work of art they're putting time and effort into it. i think it should be respected. any form of art is going to have its good and bad sides.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? hmmm….yes. i feel it can be a way to reflect the thoughts of people and also be a way to inspire people to do more.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? sometimes. sometimes i feel like i'm forcing myself to write because i feel like if i don't then people will forget about me or they’ll forget about my blog. while what i choose to write about is for me, i feel like the speed of my writing and what im writing isn't to the quality i want it to be cause i feel like i gotta get it out for people to read.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? i've never felt that way!

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? only 2 of my friends know, and i only told them like. a week ago!

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? i wish you guys would message me more! i'm quite a sociable person, and i’d love to have regular anons who talk to me 👉🏽👈🏽

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? i think one common thing amongst all writers is that we write what we want to read. so don't feel like nobody's gonna read your work, cause somebody will. you gotta act like your work is top tier even if someone says it isn't - always write the best you can, and just do it! like don't even give yourself time to overthink it, write that fic, make it look pretty, upload it onto tumblr and do not be afraid to ask your favourite fic writers to read your work once its up!! i’d be happy to read and give feedback for any fic writers as well so don't feel afraid! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? ive been on here for 7 years….i grew up on this site lmfao. but i don't think i regret joining tumblr once.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? shes not very active anymore and i miss her very much but user hyuck-s was so supportive and i love her!!

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

she believed she could, so she did.

BONUS ROUND: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL 

[bethgreeneishopeunseen]

Possibly Unknown Emily Songs?

**This is not a true meta but rather a place for me to gather some ideas and sources together for later potential analyses.**

https://bethgreeneishopeunseen.tumblr.com/post/189017182661/httpstwittercomthewalkingdeadstatus119249389 (full interview and my notes here)

In her recent interview with the podcast ‘Talk Dead to Me’, Emily discussed her upcoming music and new single ‘The Turtle and the Monkey’. At 41:54, Emily explained how the song came about and how that led her to submitting it to The Walking Dead for their 10x05 episode. She first wrote ‘The Turtle and the Monkey’ while in Nashville, and she thought it would be a good country song: 

“I wrote it with the idea of [...] a pitch song. [...] This doesn't really fit like the vibe of my records but like maybe this would work for someone else.”

While writing and recording their albums, many singer-songwriters have given away songs to other artists. For example, Avril Lavigne co-wrote the song ‘Breakaway’ for her debut album, but she eventually let Kelly Clarkson record it, since the song didn’t fit Lavigne’s work at the time. I’m most familiar with this industry experience through being a Swiftie, as Taylor Swift’s unreleased songs are legendary in the fandom. There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of old demos that she never released. She and Emily are both connected through BMI, which protects musicians and archives information on recordings, particularly archiving songwriter/composer credits:

"Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is one of four United States performing rights organizations, along with the ASCAP, SESAC, Pro Music Rights[2], and Global Music Rights. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed." -- per Wikipedia

During her early career, Emily often sang back-up for her friends and for singer-songwriters in general. This community could have connected her to New York’s professional songwriting industry, paralleling her later relocation to L.A.: “I left my management company, I took a bunch of meetings, I tried out songs with different producers, and I did writing sessions with anyone….”

“https://shorefire.com/roster/emily-kinney/bio

I did some digging, and I discovered Emily's songwriting repertory/repertoire through BMI. 

http://repertoire.bmi.com/Catalog.aspx?detail=writerid&keyid=550175283&subid=0&page=1&fromrow=1&torow=25

She's listed under 'Kinney Emily Rebecca' for her songwriter/composer credits and as 'Kinney Emily' for her performer credits. Her songwriter credits include some of the songs she wrote with Paul for The Sweetheart Deal. I also discovered that she co-wrote the songs from her original EP, Blue Toothbrush, with Conrad Korsch. (Korsch produced the album.) I always thought that she composed the album alone, and that’s why sites like BMI and ASCAP ( American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) are important. In the age of streaming and the decline of physical media, lyric booklets aren’t as accessible and lyric sites can spread misinformation on accreditation. I also discovered instrumental versions of all the songs from Blue Toothbrush, which don’t appear online. When you click on these songs, you just get an ‘Error’ message, indicating that it’s a mistake on her page or something we’re not meant to see. The mistake could be broken links or just incorrect information. I can’t say for certain.

Overall, Emily might have supplemented her income by giving away songs (and still might), and she might have been credited under a pseudonym. We can see a possible similar experience by looking at Taylor Swift’s songwriting career and how she has controlled her music and image through specific recordings and accreditation. Swift's history provides insight into the whole industry of songwriting.

Some of Taylor Swift’s unreleased songs are well-known and easily available online, such as the ballad ‘Dark Blue Tennessee’. A man named Steven once ran a site called ‘Dark Blue Tennessee’ too, and there he actually curated a list of demos and song descriptions. Though the site no longer exists, he maintains communication with a fan who runs Rare Taylor Swift (linked below). 

https://raretaylorswift.webs.com/music.htm

He is one of several collectors who basically archives and protects her unreleased work, refusing to leak it online. Collectors like him also provide information on unreleased songs that are basically ghosts, unavailable to the general public. Unreleased songs are still being discovered and/or leaked, such as new demo CDs surfacing and ‘Battle/Let’s Go’ being released online last November. Robert Ellis Orrall, an old co-writer and producer from her first album, also has a large collection of her music that he refuses to release out of respect for Swift.

https://speaknowwitch.tumblr.com/post/185977153010

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp1_UdmBPri/ (pictures of demo CDs)

Once, she recorded a demo for ‘Teardrops On My Guitar’ with ‘Drew’ changed to ‘You’ and tried to sell it to the Dixie Chicks. That was likely similar to the ‘pitch song’ Emily submitted to TWD/AMC. In 2007, Britni Hoover released ‘This Is Really Happening’; in 2009, Shea Fisher recorded Bein’ With My Baby. Swift had recorded the latter two as demos acoustically and in the studio, probably between 2004 and 2005, though she never officially released them or acknowledged them. But she’s still listed as a co-writer on them.Blu Sanders, her co-writer for ‘This is Really Happening’, even discussed the song for Chloe Govan’s book, Taylor Swift: The Rise Of The Nashville Teen.

https://speaknowwitch.tumblr.com/post/172318276796/raretaylorswiftsong-some-backstory-behind-this-is

In addition, Taylor Swift has given songs like ‘Better Man’ and ‘Babe’ to country acts, making her association well known, going so far as to feature on the latter song. The fandom had even known about Babe for years, as her co-writer mentioned it in an interview. When asked about unreleased songs, Swift has discussed albeit briefly and often self-deprecatingly, disbelieving that fans would froth at the mouth for a possible, official collection. Her unreleased songs are an open secret.

Through ASCAP, Swifties have discovered confirmed unreleased songs, like Need You Now, and other possible ones locked in the vault. For example, people discovered a song called ‘Boys and Love’, and though Swift wasn’t listed as a composer, she was listed as a performer. She probably wasn’t listed as a writer to protect the secrecy of her work. Most of her known unreleased songs are from before Fearless, her second album. Going forward her stuff has been under tighter lockdown. It was through ASCAP that some fans discovered ‘This Is What You Came For’ before it was released.

https://www.ascap.com/repertory#ace/performer/SWIFT%20TAYLOR

https://speaknowwitch.tumblr.com/post/189017651325/shakeitoff6202-sound-the-alarms-the-plot

Over summer 2016, it was revealed that Swift co-wrote Calvin Harris’s hit song ‘This Is What You Came For’ under a pseudonym ‘Nils Sjoberg’. Until Swift’s announcement, the song had been listed under that name on both BMI and ASCAP’s site. They were later updated. When it comes to all of her songs, written and performed, on ASCAP’s site, you can’t click on her accreditation. For her co-writers, you can, seeing more of their work. So Swift can protect her discography by hiding her full list. https://www.complex.com/music/2016/07/calvin-harris-calls-out-taylor-swift-wrote-this-is-what-you-came-for

While we can’t fully compare Emily and Swift, since Swift has way more scrutiny from the media, it’s possible that these song sites give all writers possible secrecy. Maybe some writers want to separate their recorded work and work given away through pseudonyms. Maybe some writers don’t want a full list of their work accessible for security/privacy reasons. And thus BMI and ASCAP might offer that. We just can’t know. But I wanted to put all of this information out there for discussion.

[pokepanda16]

Theor- … Araki, is that you?

Hirohiko Horikoshi always hid meanings and quirks within the My Hero characters’ names. However in chapter 223 I saw way more than just new names that may allude to their ideologies and personalities, along with the entire theme of this arc (P.S. Tis a lot of thought coming up, but I absolutely NEEDED to write it out somewhere ><).

Firstly, the Jojo reference Chikazoku Tomoyasu, case in point being his stand company Feel Good Inc. FGI is a specific song from the virtual band Gorillaz (look at the dude behind him and tell me that’s not a freaking Jojo reference), which in the music video shows the character 2D lamenting over his loss of independence from his leader Murdoc. He looks to the sky from the window of this dilapidated tower to see his younger bandmate Noodle and their island, floating freely, and he wishes that he could also get out and be as free as her. Fastforward to current time in the Gorillaz’ 5th phase: Murdoc has been imprisoned again and 2D gets his wish then temporarily takes over the band. He started looking much happier (cue his eyes going white) but developed a new ego that unfortunately made him more arrogant in the end. So in retrospect, Feel Good was mostly about 2D admonishing himself and others for not thinking for themselves and just letting others tell them what to do and follow. So, later when a chance came up, he took it to show he would not be blindly ruled by a “corrupt” system, just to become corrupted himself.

To compare with that, there’s Tomoyasu. Chikazoku means something close to “Earth family” and Tomoyasu varies from “Gentleness, Guarantees, and Harmony”. Basing directly from his name, this could mean his ideology is for “guaranteed harmony over the earth”, as in letting others freely live how they want as long as he can live how he wants. What I think will happen is that his character will act blasé and tired about the way Japan is dealing with regulating quirks, and he’ll be hiding deep anger and betrayal behind his freakishly long bangs. Maybe like 2D he became an empty shell, was taken advantage of or isolated then suppressed long enough to make him finally want out, to be himself in a place trying to snuff him into compliance. Who knows, but I’m sure he believes he’s been wronged and can SEE (see what I did there~) through the gov’s bs.

The next two I don’t have much to say about yet, but there are some neat potential facts about them. Hanadata Koukuu’s information might not be all too pertinent, as all I got was Koukuu meaning “space”, but Shinkyuu can mean “promotion” and “with the old and in with the new”. And in the translation notes which describe it as the “Heart Seeking Party”, I learned that there was a real life political party similarly called “Japanese Kokoro”. Their policies revolved around the advocacy of traditional values, but liberalism in other areas like regulatory reform. Regulatory reform is meant to ensure essential social and environmental welfare, transparency and access to law, and for reduced corruption. So, maybe Koukuu sees the quirk laws as inefficient to his goals or too far away from a past system he thought was better. I think through a political approach he will promote taking down these laws that “breach the rights of the people”. 

Then there’s Yotsubashi Rikiya, which we know the least about as Detnerat is probably the only fake company between the four. There are only two things I can say about him: his last name is strongly associated with a group called the Yamato, whose culture differed historically from that of the rest of Japan. So there’s that separation theme, where maybe his past experiences and his outlook on culture and the likes vastly contrast with Japan’s. That, and he looks like a mix of freaking Sawyer from Fairy Tail and Waluigi LOL! (If his hair ends up being red, I swear, he’ll basically be “If-everyone’s-super-no-one-will-be” Syndrome from the Incredibles). Terrible analyses of these two on my part tbh :/ but I guess it’s in exchange for the first and last theory.

So, if Horikoshi is going to use Feel Good so obviously as a reference, who’s to say this next one isn’t another one? I am 88% certain the woman is a semi cameo from the anime Tokyo Ghoul, and I have a lot of evidence to prove it. Shueisha is the name of a Japanese anime publishing company which began with a company called Shogakukan, then later went independent. Now it is one of Japan’s leading publishing houses, gaining popularity AFTER separating and becoming just as equally popular as them (so, another separation motif). They now operate portal sites that include women’s magazines and comics; but most importantly they are publishers of both My Hero AND Tokyo Ghoul. Based on her looks, Kizuki reminds me of both Sen Takatsuki aka Ego Yoshimura and Rize Kamishiro from TG. Sen was a “woman filled with despair and hatred towards the world, yet believed in creating a society where ghouls wouldn’t be persecuted for existing.” She was also an author which made an allegory with a book called “The Black Goat’s Egg” (which looks VERY similar to the book Kizuki is holding in her panel), the story being of a child’s future pretty much decided because of the mother’s actions that came before him. Then with Rize Kamishiro, she refused to be ”confined in a cage of their own free will… Even though she was they were the 'king of all beasts.’” She did not want to have to hide her true self from the humans, and she actually was fond of Sen’s book too because of its message. So with the book being a major connection between the two’s views, it comes with the message of not letting the past and present become the precedent of an eternal future of “imprisonment”. This part I might elaborate more on a different post (I am writing this terribly I’m so sorry), but potentially doing this kind of reference with the ghouls adds a whole new layer to the future of My Hero.

So last meanings: Shueisha Company now works with VIZ Media to “grow awareness” from Japan to America about anime and other platforms people internationally could join in on; so it is no coincidence that the name Kizuki means “Awareness/Realization”. A version of Chitose’s name in Kanji also can mean “Human” and “Momentum”.  With this translation I believe Kizuki, like Rize and Sen and Shueisha in regards to anime, wants the people of Japan to have a “momentum of realization” for equality and rights for all who live on Earth. In the end, TG and its characters explored the concept that we all live in a world of gray, a place that is never truly black and white or “humans good and ghouls bad”. Heck, we might finally be able to further expand on the concept which Stain left us off with a while ago! We’ll see~

OK VERY LONG IM SORRY SO IMMA PARAPHRASE NOW. Most of these references are from pretty popular media dealing with dissatisfaction with society. They all show how everything rides on a gray line. All have the theme of separating themselves from the “conventional”, the things they believed held them down the most and preventing full freedom to be themselves. Being of literature, music, lifestyle supporting goods, and potential politic parties, they all have incredible ingenuity and can apparently see a bigger picture they believe is the only right way. They want change, and their ideas are strong enough to start revolutions. They and the people who learned to believe in them existed all around without anyone never knowing anything, for who knows how long. I think their motivations are going to have very good points that’ll make us question if they’re actually fully bad people as they’re seemingly set up to be. Horikoshi did say that My Hero was going to get progressively darker. So if I’m right with any of these… well, our hearts are screwed.

I can honestly keep going.. so I guess, if anyone wants to talk with me further about anything? Or to tell me I’m too gullible or that I thought too hard or I suck at writing lolololllll. Anyways,

Thank you for coming to my essay

[scarlettsabetlondongirl]

Interview of Poet Scarlett Sabet in Hunger Magazine here or below

By Ryan Lanji

THE MUSE: MEET SCARLETT SABET, THE NEXT GEN POET TO DISCOVER

Hailed as one of the brightest new stars on the international poetry scene, Scarlett Sabet has become renowned for her beautiful prose and emotive poetry readings. Now, with the release of her fourth book ‘Camille,’ a book of love poems published this Valentine’s Day, and her upcoming headline slot at The Hoxton Hotel’s poetry gala ‘Love in Other Words,’ we spoke to Sabet about poetry, performing and the meaning of love.

Hey Scarlett. Okay, first things first, how did you find poetry?

It was whilst studying English A- level that certain poems really started to fascinate me. We were studying the classics, Coleridge, and W.B Yeats and then I was asked to attend Advanced English which was a great excuse to read even more and not leave the library. I really enjoyed analysing the written word, trying to work out its alchemy. I’ve always written a kind of diary, a non-linear, random lyrical documentation of my life, experience and perspective. My poems were rooted in that and crept out. Poetry just became the language that made the most sense.

Tell us about your new book CAMILLE and launching it at the iconic book shop Shakespeare & Co in Paris?

Well, I received a strong response to the love poems in my first three books, particularly from other women. It made sense to curate them into one big book, and I’m really excited to share it. It is always an honour to read at Shakespeare & Co – it is a fantasy bookshop made real, so iconic. It’s run by Sylvia Whitman who has been a champion of my work since the beginning. Also, it made sense to launch a collection of love poems in the city of love! And the name of the book “CAMILLE” is one of my middle names given to me by my mother who is French, so it’s got an emotional connection. Paris always feels like I’m returning home.

CAMILLE is about love and is truly complex in it’s methods of describing that through past relationships, heartbreak and euphoria can you tell us how these different versions of love inform your book?

The hunger of desire, love in its purest physical form, and my work seem to be what feed me the most. I felt it made sense to curate my love poems together in one book. Being in love, I continuously try to articulate it better, in a way elevated from the simple words “I love you”. I want to paint the most vivid, visceral portrait, but I feel like I will never be done, but I’ll try a thousand times. Having said that, I’m really proud of poems like “Feathers”, “Ocean”, “Lilith In The Midheaven” – they’re raw and honest, and they seem to resonate with people which I love. The book also has a lot of poems from darker, more challenging periods of my life, and it also has poems inspired by situations I’ve observed: people chasing someone that’s cheated on them, people who have a twisted fantasy that they want to make real by projecting it onto someone who is not interested. Destructive lust. A tired relationship that’s run its course. Poems like “Off”, “Love” and “Scorpio” will make you glad that you are not in a relationship. It’s better to be single and be true to yourself rather than be humiliated and put down. It really is a book with something for everyone.

Some of your poems are made using William Burroughs’ style of cutting and pasting, can you tell us more about being inspired by his method and the poem you created?

Well I have a huge respect for William Burroughs, Brion Gysion, Kerouac, Neal, Ginsberg… I feel those beat generation writers were truly courageous, and really living to their own principles. They upheld their art above all else, and were ravenous in their explorations socially, sexually, culturally. They have been so influential, and I feel perhaps that hasn’t been fully recognised. A poem in this book is a love letter, maybe a kind of eulogy, for Jack Kerouac, it’s called “For Jack”. I read it for the first-time last autumn in Kerouac’s birthplace in Massachusetts, at a festival I was asked to perform at and so I guess it’s infused with some of his hometown energy.

I find the cut-up method liberating. It’s both disciplined and random, and I think it’s a good exercise for writers. It makes you detach and broaden your horizons. Burroughs said “when you cut into the present the future leaks out” so that was something I had in mind. I used the cut-up method with a poem called “Hiding In Plain Sight”. I wrote out phrases from every other poem in the book, the poems that already existed, I added I think 4 additional phrases, turned them over so I couldn’t read them, arranged them, then turned them over to read the sequence it had formed. From the existing poems a new mutation had formed. And I always find that when you cut something up and rearrange it, it creates its own dark, random rhythm. Another poem in Camille was done using cut up, it’s called “And My Lungs Fill With Ecstatic Song”, that’s more of an ecstatic mantra, trying to capture this transcendental feeling, a reflection on a loving memory as I was walking in the countryside by a river, it was kind of an epiphany. Ginsberg and Burroughs both stayed at Shakespeare and Co in Paris too. Burroughs started writing Naked Lunch there.

Do you think poetry can change the world? If so, how?

I do. I think in a slow, subtle but effective way. It filters into our consciousness and our diets are so important, not just what we eat and drink, but what we watch, what we read, what we listen to, we gradually absorb. I think a poet’s responsibility is to be of service, and also hold up a mirror to our times, socially, politically, whilst incorporating the individual experience, the mundane, the disappointment, desire, reflection.

Do you think there is a resurgence of poetry through social media culture?

I think so. The internet makes everything so accessible. It’s easily to access artists and find them on social media, see how they present themselves. That can say just as much as their work, I think. I enjoy posting poems I’ve already published. Also, go on Youtube, you can hear Adrian Mitchell perform his poem “Tell Me Lies About Vietnam” at the Royal Albert Hall in 1965, it’s a fantastically passionate performance, the poem still so relevant today. You can YouTube Sylvia Plath reading “Daddy”.

What are the similarities to meme culture and poetry? What are the differences?

The only memes I know about are astrology memes. I’d say poetry and memes are separate. Read “Howl” if you disagree.

How can we keep meme culture – in regards to the spreading of word via imagery – and poetry separate?

Well a meme is about three sentences at most with a picture. Unless it’s a haiku you are hard pressed to call that a poem.

Who are the poets who inspire you and who are you looking to inspire?

Jack Kerouac, Emily Dickinson, Bob Dylan, Sylvia Plath. I’m really inspired by Ted Hughes. He was very human in his flaws, he became notorious and he was a lightning rod for controversy, but I find his work astounding. He committed his whole life to his poetry and to nature and was poet laureate. His love poems are achingly raw and carnal and knowing. He published “Birthday Letters” in 1998 not long before he died, and they were all of his love poems to Sylvia Plath. Had he published them decades earlier perhaps things might have been easier in some respects. I suppose, I’d like my work to be of service to people., perhaps validate their own feelings. And really, I’m an outsider on the inside, so I hope that perhaps I could inspire someone to use their own voice, or pursue their life’s great work, even if those around them are doubtful.

Many people find poetry to be beautiful when they come upon it (usually by chance) but what advice would you give someone who wanted more of it in their life?

Go to a poetry reading. I get so much from performing my work, I put everything into it and the audience and I are living it together. I also love sitting in a packed basement, watching other people getting up, hearing someone lay down their words. I absorb the poetry better when it’s read aloud.

Poetry has become quite fashionable recently and fashion is considered visual poetry what do you think about this relationship?

I think it’s a relationship that makes sense. Good tailoring is like a well-structured poem, it looks and feels effortless, it flows in a beautiful way that catches and keeps the attention of the audience, but it’s been created by a craftsman with love.

Where would you like to be in 20 years with your poetry?

My life has broadened in such unpredictable ways these last few years it’s hard to predict. I imagine I will still be just as obsessed with writing and poetry and pushing myself further – I’m sure certain magical things will have manifested by then though.

Camille can be purchased here

Photo: Photographer David Brolan

[denimini]

Too much shipping?

Inspired by this post

Disclaimer 1: no ships are being attacked here, this post (as is my blog) is a safe zone and a place of no judgement.The only time I would ever judge another person is if they are being disrespectful and harmful to a member of the band, another fan or the community. 

Disclaimer 2: I don’t see myself as better than anyone else. The point of this post is not to “educate” anyone. In fact I am guilty of doing some of these things to. When I started to ship, I often looked for “proof”, compared moments between ships, over analysed everything and made myself disappointed. It took some thinking and time for me to rid myself of the habits which were harming to me. And even though I don’t think I managed to do it completely, I now have a much healthier (and happier) way of shipping. So, really, I just wanna share my own experience and maybe help someone not make the same mistakes that I did. 

I’ve been thinking a lot this past month or two on shipping and its levels, coming from the fact that my personal believe in my OTP (it’s Jikook fyi but that is kinda irrelevant here) has grown bigger since the beginning of last year and also as a result of all the ship drama that is always active but somehow even more so in the end of 2017/beginning of 2018. As I found myself more and more immersed into the fandom, I got more into shipping as well. I enjoy my OTPs tag; often re-blog things with captions such as “they are in love” “boyfriends”; watch for their interaction in RUN episodes and other official material; fan videos on YouTube and etc. Which in itself is something I think maybe all of us do/did at some point and is normal.

But then I see ship wars and people distraught over lack of moments, accusations on the company from “preventing” or “hiding” them, fans attacking each other and insulting members and I start to wonder if there is such thing as too much shipping and too much believing. Like, how much is enough and when does it get too much? 

For example Jikook. I do believe there is a real possibility of them being together and yes, out of all the ships within BTS  to me they seem as the one with the highest chance of being romantic. I have my reasons to think like that (which I will not list because it’s not important here at all even though I have basically made a list like that on my blog which is beside the point). But then again the same is valid for every other shipper out there as well, who may say the same thing. (and we all know all of us can’t be right, if someone is even right at all). 

And the thing is every ship (Jikook included) is at this point just that: a ship. Because nothing is confirmed and nothing is unfortunately cannon. (maybe headcannon, but excuse me, I am biased).

For me personally, it is best to not let myself have a 100% belief (don’t attack me as a fake shipper please) and to always keep in mind that even though it might seem one way, it could very well be the other. We just don’t have the whole information. Some things can be indications of a romantic relationship but nothing is certain. Basically I am open to the possibility of it not being real and that way I keep myself sane. 

Because I see a lot of people who get too immersed into the idea of a ship being “real” (a bad choice of words since they are all real people, so be definition every ship is real) and thus become disappointed. 

Let me illustrate this with some examples. (mainly from my OTP since I know them the best but it is applicable to every ship really)

Situation 1: Let’s say JM falls and JK doesn’t run to help him. There for sure will be people taking this a sign that Kook is a “bad boyfriend” or that they “are no longer together”. Or for example let’s imagine Jikook does nothing, absolutely nothing, on Valentine’s day this year. I guarantee there will be people taking this as Jikook not being a thing. Or a real-life example: JM seemingly shrugging JK’s hand off his shoulder: “they are fighting”, “they are breaking up”. JM talking with Taemin backstage: “they are an item”. Now from other ships: T//K eating dinner together: “it’s a date; they are dating”. But don’t think I am attacking my own ship. Here are other examples: JK doesn’t wish T happy birthday on twitter: “he must not care about him anymore”. JK publishing G.C.F: “heartbroken fans” accusing Kook, leaving their ship and closing their accounts. 

Situation 2: Now the opposite thing, innocent moments blown way out of proportion. Two members hug? Proof of the ship! Two members go to the toilet at an award show? They must have fucked! Someone has a bruise on their neck? It means he is having sex with another member! Someone has written a chorus in a new song? It definetely is dedicated to a fellow band mate! Someone snorted during a vlive? Roomates! (I am a little bit guilty for this as well)

Situation 3: Conspiracies. Two members don’t have moments? BH must be hiding them. Other members seem close as well/closer? It’s a cover up! Another OTP is having fun? Fanservice! Fanservice! 

Do you see where I’m going with this? Interpreting every single thing is a sign of a break up or conflict or a confirmation of a relationship can become problematic sometimes both for the fan, as well as for the band. For the fan when it is directed inwards because it creates expectations as to how the two people should behave towards each other in general and in a certain situation. And if that expectations are not fulfilled, that can become a source of disappointment and discontentment. In turn this can lead to over reacting and over dramatic responses to everything the boys do that doesn’t equal our idea of what their relationship should be like. 

For the boys and the band it becomes a problem when it is directed outwards: In the form of insulting a member with things such as “Why would X member like Y when Z is so much better. Y is so ugly/stupid/fat and etc” (real example here but I don’t want to call names). Or accusing a member of “coming between”, being “a slut” and “ruining a ship” to the point of sending death threats. Or hating on a member of the own OTP for caring for someone else outside the preferred ship. Or attacking other shippers because they don’t think the same way, insulting and abusing them through social media. Or disregarding the bond between the members by saying “He only talks to make Y to make Z jealous” or “They are not even friends, they don’t even like each  other, it is all a scheme”

I really wish the examples above were something I made up but they are unfortunately completely true. Just go into twitter after a major shipping moment happens and see for yourself. And I think it comes from the extreme level of shipping, the absolute belief of the reality of the ship and the absolute denial of the opposite. It creates an unstable basis for the mind so that when even the slightest disturbance to the ship occurs, it leads to a state of panic. 

Again, it is perfectly possible to believe wholeheartedly in a ship and to never do any of the above. It is possible to think two members are 100% for sure together and still not feel disappointed or outraged if it turns out they are not. And it is possible to be very much into a ship and not see them as romantic at all. In fact I think most of us are healthy shippers. 

It’s just that there is usually a connection between how much a person believes in a ship, how dedicated to it they are and how they react in the face of “opposite proof” (proof of non-reality or proof of the “opposing” ship) . And really, these problems are present in every k-pop fandom, they are shipper from every ship who do this. Still, in some ships it is more common than in other. Here are some common things and predisposing factors that I have noticed: 

Age: the younger the fan, the easiest to fall into some of these traps. Younger fans are simply less mature (which is a given, duh). They take things more personally and are the most likely  to show sign of disappointment and aggression. They also often lack the knowledge of what is acceptable and what is not and are more easily influenced by other people.

Quality and quantity of moments: more moments = a bigger feeling of security in the ship. Less moments and/or more interactions between the “opposing” ship = less security in the ship. Which plays a role in two ways: shippers of the less active ship tend to be the more defensive, attack more frequently, create conspiracies and hype excessively when they do have a moment. Shippers of the more active ship have a sense of security so they tend to be calmer. That has it’s dangers too: if the ship doesn’t fit the determined norm or if takes a turn for the calmer side, that creates bigger disappointment. (It is more painful to fall from a high place than from a low). Which lead to the next point:

Change in dynamics: if the interactions in one ship become more intimate while in the other one things stay more or less the same, it can also be seen as a “disturbance” and lead to the problems mentioned above. 

Popularity: the more popular-> the bigger the fan base -> more support in case of bad behavior.  It is easier to act out when there are a lot of people backing you. It is also easier to not realize you’re in the wrong when everyone around you is making the same mistakes.

Conclusion1: There really isn’t a set border to when shipping is becoming too much. Generally speaking everything is fine (creating theories, watching shipping videos, reading fan fiction and etc) if it isn’t preventing you from your living own life, if it as a source of happiness and positive emotions and if it isn’t harming to you or other people. As long as it gives you joy and is done respectfully, you are good to go!

Conclusion2: But if it becomes a source of negative emotions to you, if it causes you to act in a way that is harming to other people, if it completely takes over your life to the point of preventing you from living it, then maybe all this energy could be focused somewhere else, where it will do you and others more good. 

Other posts on similar themes: 

 Toxic shipping;  

 About ships and G.C.F;  

Jimin and Jungkook on their own and together 

P.S Let’s have a peaceful discussion and be gentle and civil with each other! 

[that-curly-haired-lesbian]

Analyze love story from a queer view?

Hianon!

Surething, one analysis of Love Story comingright up!

Before we startlooking at the lyrics though,we need to talk about Shakespeare real quick, everyone knows who that is,right? Writer dude that was kind of a big deal in the 1500’s (and interestinglyhad quite a few gay rumors surrounding him.) Anyway old Billy wrote this famousplay called Romeo & Juliet and it’salmost impossible to talk about Taylor Swift’s Love Story without constantly referring to this play so lemme breakdown the plot.

These two kids (she’s14 he’s 17, creepy right?) meet at a ball that Juliet’s family is throwing.

Juliet doesn’t knowwho Romeo is when she first meets him at the ball, but later (when he comes toher bedroom window and gets her attention by throwing pebbles at said window) shefinds out that he’s a Montague. A member of the family that’s having agenerations-long feud with Juliet’s family thus making it difficult for them tobe together even though they’re very in love.

Oh and also, whilethe goal of these analyses isn’t to tell you who a certain song of Taylor’s is orisn’t about I cannot quite help but attribute Love Story to Emily Poe. You know, Taylor’s first semi-publicgirlfriend? The girl who played the violin for Taylor in her early career onlyto then be fired on vague grounds somehow connected to the “negative influence”she was supposedly having on Taylor’s image.

This song is on thesame album as Breathe a song withmore than a few queer elements that Taylor has all but publicly stated waswritten for Emily. (Here’s a Taymily master post by @karlieskupkake for anyonewho’s interested)

Anyway, I just wantedto point that out since I may mention Taymily in the analysis. As always though,any interpretation of the song I offer below is nothing but my own speculationand I’m obviously not claiming it to be fact.

Okay now let’s lookat Taylor’s song, one of her most popular ones in fact. On the surface we havea song that’s using references to one of the world’s most famous hetero lovestories to tell its own hetero love story, fairly unoriginal really. But if wedig a little deeper we have a queer retelling of Romeo & Juliet with SPOILER ALERT: a happy ending! Pretty cool,right?

Lyrics cred onceagain goes to AZLyrics, this time with no edits from me.

–

We were both young when I first saw you.

I close my eyes and the flashback starts:

I’m standing there on a balcony in summer air.

–

These opening lines almost immediately lay out the Romeo & Juliet narrative by invokingimages of a girl on a balcony which is a clear reference to the source materialas her balcony is the first place Juliet has a proper conversation with herlove interest Romeo in Shakespeare’s play. Romeo and Juliet are also bothindeed very young when the events of the play unfolds, but the fact that Taylorthinks back on the events in her own life (the “flashback” part) that she’schosen to explore with the help of Romeo& Juliet suggests one key difference between Shakespeare’s story andthe story Taylor is telling. Unlike Romeo (the character I’d argue she plays inthis narrative, despite what she tries to tell us) she’s alive to think back onher time spent with “Juliet.”  

–

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.

See you make your way through the crowd

And say, “Hello.”

Little did I know…

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles

–

So, like I said, Tay- I mean Romeo is thinking back onher time spent with Emi- I mean Juliet. Just like the characters in the play it’splainly stated that the lovers from the song met at a ball and had a briefinteraction there, not knowing what they’d later come to mean to each other.

I think the party part (no pun intended) is mostlythere to keep the references to the play going, it’s probably not suggestingthat Taylor and her girlfriend met at an actual ball, but perhaps they also metfor the first time briefly and in a formal setting and a room full of people,not knowing they’d come to be important to each other in a personal way?

–

And my daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet.”

And I was crying on the staircase

Begging you, “Please don’t go.”

–

If we’re to believe the hetero narrative the song istrying to put forth Taylor is playing the role of Juliet and her MALE loveinterest is Romeo, right? Well, in these lines she tries to point this out tous as to #NoHomo-proof the song. She’s now explicitly stating thather lover is Romeo and then she implies that her father tells Romeo to leaveand stay the hell away from his daughter.

However these lines always struck me as a little weird…It’salmost as if Taylor’s dad is telling HER to stay away from Juliet, don’t youthink?

It’s unspecified who the dad is talking to when hesays to stay away from Juliet and then Taylor is immediately telling us what she’s doing, not what the male love isdoing. As if those words are directed at her,not him. She’s only saying she was upset by them, but not specifying how theyimpacted the male who they were supposedly spoken to.

Additionally, when she begs the love interest not togo Taylor’s doing what she usually does, despite having just told us that thelove interest is Romeo she’s now having them be gender neutral, not calling him“him” she’s done #NoHomo-proofing for now.

So to summarize,with our queer googles on the scene Taylor is painting looks something likethis: Taylor is told by her “father,” or perhaps more likely, label or managementthat she can no longer see her girlfriend. This upsets Taylor and reduces herto tears as she begs “Juliet” not to leave her.

–

And I said…Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.

I’ll be waiting; all that’s left to do is run.

You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess,

It’s a love story, baby, just say “Yes”.

–

After that daring little “you” in place of “him”Taylor takes us to the chorus by once again reminding us that the other person inthis story is a BOY named ROMEO. Just in case we got confused by all thatgender-neutrality and started wondering which lover is playing which part.

Anyway, after once again shouting “NO, HOMO, GUYS!!”At us Taylor is saying she’d very much like to be alone with her love so thatthey can have a private and perfect love story. She’s suggesting they run awaytogether and begging for her girl to say yes to the idea (Call It What You Want, anyone?)

She also throws in some more#NoHomo for good measure, this time by referring to herself as a princess andto her BOYFRIEND as a prince.

Remember in my analysisof Angelina when I said Taylor was using “princess” as a metaphor fora heterosexual girl? Yeah, she’s doing that again, but this time she’s describingherself as the “typical princess” that in Angelinashe said she’d never be. 🤔

–

So I sneak out to the garden to see you.

We keep quiet ‘cause we’re dead if they knew

So close your eyes,

Escape this town for a little while.

–

Here Taylor’s talking about a secret relationship andhaving to hide the love, wishing they could just be far away from where theyare so that they could love openly, pretty queer, right? Interestingly a famousquote from Taylor about Love Story statesthat while she choose to tell the story by relating it to Romeo & Juliet she relates more to the song as being about “alove that you cannot really elaborate on — a love that maybe society wouldn’taccept or maybe your friends wouldn’t accept.“ (x) Once again, pretty damnqueer!

–

‘Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,

And my daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet.”

But you were everything to me,

I was begging you, “Please don’t go.”

–

Something interesting happens here, Taylor refers toherself (or perhaps her girlfriend, if we’re sticking with the idea that Taylorherself is Romeo) as a “scarlet letter” this is another literary reference asit alludes to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel TheScarlet Letter from 1850. In the novel this girl Hester falls in love withthis dude named Dimmesdale and they have a kid together out of wedlock which wasa big no-no in those days. To make everyone aware of Hester’s “crime” she hasto wear the letter A in bold scarlet on her chest at all times. Many litprofessors and such agree that the letter in the context of the novel symbolizessin. (Ha, I KNEW that lit degree I’m in the process of getting would be goodfor something!)

Many homophobes consider homosexuality a sin and so I thinkthat line is simply Taylor warning everyone involved that if she and hergirlfriend were to publicly date it’d be societal suicide. In the sense that alot of society would look at them as “sinners” or mark them as odd or out ofthe norm, just as if they were wearing a giant red A on them at all times, they’llalways stand out and society would always be aware of it.  

She may also be talking about how being in a publicrelationship with another girl would “mark” her a “gay artist” and limit hercareer, as if she was wearing a giant L for lesbian everywhere she went. To stop this from happening “daddy” (or Taylor’s management/label) isstepping in to stop the girls from going down the path of being publiclytogether. 

With the you were everything tome, I was begging you please don’t go-line though Taylor is, at least for amoment suggesting she doesn’t care about the consequences of being with hergirlfriend, professional OR personal ones, the girl is worth it all.

–

(Chorus)

–

Romeo, save me. They’re trying to tell me how to feel.

This love is difficult but it’s real.

Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess.

It’s a love story, baby, just say “Yes”.

–

Interesting fact: the original lyrics here was allegedly“This love is DIFFERENT, but it’s real” 🌈🌈🌈  

Anyway, with these lines Ibelieve that Taylor is trying to reassure her love that while management orother various outside forces are trying to tell them how to feel (aka “don’t begay, it’s bad” again, teaching children internalized homophobia is fun, right? 🤢) or advising them to break up for the benefit of Taylor’scareer etc. that’s not what she wants and she wants them to fight for theirlove and she’s encouraging “Juliet” to agree that they’ll try to stick togetherthroughout all of this, closeted if they have to.

–

I got tired of waiting

Wondering if you were ever coming around.

My faith in you was fading

–

This is the part of Romeo & Juliet where Juliet is waiting for Romeo to sneak backto see her so that they can work out an escape plan and be together far awayfrom their feuding families, but she’s starting to fear he won’t actually showup. If we assume this song is about Taymily this is where their story would’ve ended,right? Emily is fired and they give in to the pressure from management and breakthe relationship off never to associate with each other ever again…Meanwhile inthe play Romeo and Juliet both die, everything is super upsetting, but THEN…

–

When I met you on the outskirts of town.

And I said…Romeo, save me. I’ve been feeling so alone.

I keep waiting for you, but you never come.

Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think.

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring andsaid…

–

Taylor decides to go against both the canon of theplay and her own reality by giving the star-crossed lovers a happy ending. It’seven implied that perhaps this last part is imagined (is this in my head? I don’t know what to think) but regardless,just when she’s given up hope Taylor is reunited with her lover and proceeds to tell “Juliet” all about how lonely her “Romeo” has been without her, Then suddenlyshe decides to use a pronoun for her love interest for the first time in thesong and of course it’s a “him” and now “he’s” proposing. This is (almost) Taylor’slast desperate attempt to #NoHomo-proof this queer af song.

–

Marry me, Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone.

I love you, and that’s all I really know.

I talked to your dad – go pick out a white dress

It’s a love story, baby, just say “Yes”.

–

Hi, thanks for sticking with me so far and um, welcometo the best part of the song! You see, it turns out Taylor was #NoHomo:ing like crazy in this song for a REASON. In what is perhaps her gayest lyrics ever to date Taylor finally fully steps into her rightfulrole as Romeo and proposes to her Juliet. This isn’t the first time Taylor hasstepped into the shoes of “the guy” in her songs in order to sing about a girlin a #NoHomo way. (She does this in Mine andOur Song among others) Taylor istelling Juliet that she loves her and that none of them should have to bealone, that they’ll figure out the rest as they go along. She then continuesthe proposal by stating she’s talked to Juliet’s dad (#NoHomo) or as we’vechosen to look at it management/the label and managed to convince theseopposing forces that the lovers should indeed be allowed to be together. With the white dress line Taylor is begging “Juliet”to take her back and say yes to being together once more so that their lovestory can get the ending it deserves.

–

Thanks for gettingall the way to the end! This song was considerably longer and more complex thanAngelina, but I hope you all enjoyedthe read and if you want me to look at another one of Taylor’s songs from aqueer perspective, don’t hesitate to send me an ask! 😊

[joulethieves]

@vivisucre submitted:

I wanted to answer to your post and give my opinion on the end of the game, but I ended up writing too much again so I submit it.

I don’t know about the song, I never really listen to it. But for me the ending is lacking something.

Maybe because the all story is more realistic and less dramatic than the other FF. Of course there is Basch and Noah’s arc but I could never be emotionally attached to them, so Noah’s end seemed almost normal story-wise to me. The objective of the story is to bring peace to Dalmasca, it happens, there is no big plot twist nor really emotional scene. The plot twist (according to me) is the existence and purpose of the Occurias, but it happens way before the end of the game. I love the philosophical reflection about destiny and fate and who should control your own path, but that is for the analyse of the game, not what we feel watching the ending scene.

I just feel that the end is too similar to the purpose at the beginning of the game. If you think about FFX, the end is the contrary of what should have happened. Same goes for FFXV. But in FFXII ? No big surprise really. The characters had really good development arcs, but the general plot didn’t change that much.

It doesn’t make me love less of the game, it has other qualities, but it is a thought I had a long time ago.

thanks for your submission and your interpretation comparing this ending to some other FF’s! i know a lot of fans really do love basch and noah so it all depends on how you connect with the characters! it’s so interesting how different folks attach themselves to certain characters for whatever reasons just as complex as people themselves. 

for me it is hard to place why the ending feels odd--after all, my favorite boy is vaan and the final shot is of him flying off to the sky in his airship. i’m not sure if the ending makes me feel weird or bad or any negative thing, it just. makes me feel sad maybe because it’s over? but like. seeing that shot of vaan, his smile, his airship, it’s like the best feeling for me as someone who spends the whole game in support of him. so maybe it’s just i’m not used to things ending since i don’t consume much media--i don’t read or watch movies or anything really so, it might just be that the fact it ends makes me feel all. funny ‘nd stuff.

[lirending-blog]

Future of suicidal prevention: Artificial Intelligence?

Tool, not solution.

Technology is not the answer. but instead, raised more problem. But- it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

 People – especially young people from 15-24, have never been suiciding so much as today, and they have not been expressing suicidal thoughts so openly and frequently, due to the space proved by media platforms. After many astonishing livestream Facebook suicides, the platform took action in 2017. Their answer is to use Artificial Intelligence to actively scan suicidal posts and act accordingly.

 It seem to be reasonable- by estimation there is 20 or more non-fatal attempted suicides for each succeed death, and the early detection can be helpful in this way. Despite the development of detection technique, the suicide rate is still climbing, which raised the question whether these kind of innovation is really helpful.

 In the last 10 years, AI suicidal prevention is more passive compared to today: When you search suicide on websites or tell Siri you’re going to kill yourself- information about helpline will be shown.

Siri can respond in multiple languages, according to simple key words such as “suicide”. Search engines worldwide does the similar. When you actively type in words such as ‘suicide’, the provider would offer you 24 hour suicide prevention hotlines and online resources.

  Before turning to AI in 2017, Facebook relies also on user reporting - You can flag content as suicidal in Facebook, and the operation team will act accordingly.

 But for the first time, started in 2017; Facebook are using AI programme to actively scanning through the post - even images and Facebook Livestream, to actively seek for possible suicidal contents. Similar research initiated in China, April 2018, ‘tree hole bot’ begin the scanning on Weibo (Biggest social platform in China).

 How can AI understand “the one truly philosophical problem”- Suicide?

 How hard can it be? Well, people can clam ‘suicide’ and totally not mean it at all. “If I hear that song again, I’m gonna kill myself” is certainly not suicidal if you ask most of us; but how can you teach AI to learn contextual meaning? On contrary, the truly suicidal posts may without words like “kill myself” or “suicide”. A post as simple as ‘Goodbye’ can be the last message of somebody before suicide.

 The technology behind this is Machine Learning. Now it can achieve 80—90% accuracy in identifying suicide contents. How can we do that?

 Also look at comments under the original post, and the time when it is posted: there are time in a day people commit more suicide.

Each combinations of words are given positive or negative values, and they are sum-up by certain algorithm. When the outcome is beyond a certain value (the ‘threshold’ set by comparing a range of previous posts thought suicidal), the post will be reviewed by human reviewer. Those are trained members of their community operations team, can provide help with resources that is shown only to the suicidal individual. It is for themselves to decide whether to click on the link provided and seek for help.

  FB claims working on suicide prevention; This act is to create a safe community “on and off Facebook”.

  This safe act does not feel so safe on some points. A range of new concerns are raised:

Maybe, you can get police knock on your door when Facebook see your post as “having tendency of immediate self-harm”, but you thought you are expressing feelings in an anonymous way …This is almost Like being surveillance by “Big brother”.

 Nevertheless, successfully identify suicidal posts does not mean we can successfully stop them.

  When we reach a point, that technology can do only this much. There is one giant Gap lies between technology and problem solving. Then we realize technology is not the answer-but the problematic tool that can be misused, or the Pandora’s box- it is trouble itself.

 Given this, should we or should we not continue developing this tool? If we’re not to abandon it, how should we regulate it/ use it in the right way?

   Firstly, what are the main ethnical issues?

 Is the research ethical?

 The Research (or, to be called experiments) conducted on emotion and mental state of vulnerable people with risk of self-harming, without acknowledging its user (no data was announced to the public, too).

The research may seem beneficial to its users, but the actual benefits, as do potential harms remain unclear. Both risks and benefits cannot be assessed, as Facebook is not sharing its results. In the report Facebook repeatedly claim the research is done with “external” experts, suggesting there is nothing to do with its own interests.

  Are we more naked than ever?

 If they can identify ‘suicidal’ thoughts and emotion through AI, then it can potentially identify other emotional status other than people at risk, and thus we are selling our privacy to big companies for exchange of ‘safety’.

 Or, it raises the doubt that if FB is only doing this to comfort people’s panic on those suicidal live videos:

 On one hand, Facebook says in a statement sent to Medscape Medical News:

  "Mental health experts say that one of the best ways to prevent suicide is for people in distress to hear from friends and family who care about them. We can connect those in distress with friends (and also organizations) who can offer support."

 On the other hand, to protect the privacy of its users, the post marked as “private” will not be evaluated by AI. Nor will they inform ‘friends’ and ‘families’, of course; The platform will only interfere manually when there is sign of imminent harm.

 This is basically saying:

 We care only when you’re expressing suicidal thoughts publicly, which harms the safety of our platform. You can kill yourself if your wish, but not in my backyard (platform).

  What’s worse- there is too many legal blank space in there. Compare to the history of our legal practise, the history of AI working on social media is too short. There is currently no or little way through laws to regulate those directly.

  And is it REALLY working?

 In China’s case, the AI is not developed by the platform, but the individual researcher Huang Zhisheng and the volunteering team, which reveals more acute problems in its saving operations.

Till March 2019, the team has launched more than 700 rescues, 320 of which have been rescued- in 6 months. That is to say, more than half of the rescues failed. Did the rescue operation “saved” 320, or did it end in killing the other half?

 All data analysed by Huang’s team are public posts. But we still don’t know when is a good time to contact people via Private chat. Bullying, academic and relationship pressure might be solved by consulting, but how about debt and family abuse? At what point should we inform the police? After saving the suicide person once, what about the follow-ups? The volunteers also pay their own money into operations, since they are founded by no one.

 All is making Huang’s attempt a good academic practise in AI, but not solving suicide, the social problem we aimed at with AI.

 Compared to this, Facebook is doing relatively better but connecting the resource to individuals. But we can certainly do better.

  Where are we going?

 AI is a great tool, but not the solution. We don’t yet know how to use it properly -For now. The practise of AI suicidal analysis only began at 2017. two years is still a short time to see what this AI can do.

 The first we need is transparency. Beyond the ethics, the performance of algorithms for detecting suicide risk are best optimized through the joint force of researchers across the field of machine learning and cognitive neuroscience. Facebook could be an invaluable tool to develop AI studies.

 In order to help the social problem of suicide, medical facilities and researchers on mental health and society should be involved. This could attract founding on certain professional research team, and do long-term help on mental health. The greatest benefit is achieved by those working together rather than separately.

 Laws and Regulations should follow, to aid platforms cooperating to external resources. Only by this way AI suicide prevention can be truly used to do some good, rather than being a toy to comfort our worries.

[quickresearch-blog]

Hiatus Kaiyote

I’ve been struggling for a bit on how I want to do music posts. I think I don’t even really have an answer, but more like a range of options. Posts could be album reviews, musical analyses, music theory/theorems, styles and pioneers of music, etc. I’m excited.

I’ve grown a lot during freshman year. Experiences, preferences, opinions. Especially on jazz and R&B. I met a lot of people, and one of them was showing me his CD collection. It was during a house party, with great music and an even better environment for sharing it. It was obvious who cared about music and who didn’t, and those who did were extremely enthusiastic and open for discussion. It was one of the best environments I’ve ever found myself in musically, and I think back to it often. Anyways, back to the kid showing me his CD collection. His favorite band ever was a band named Hiatus Kaiyote (which I internally laughed at, I mean a name like that is just too hipster). They had the ugliest album art work I’ve seen, or maybe it was just really misleading. It made me think of a classic rock band, which turned me off. Still, with all music, you entertain it, and I’m really glad I did.

Twice Grammy-nominated, Australian neo-soul/R&B/jazz/new-funk/indie band Hiatus Kaiyote has done, in their own words, multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit. The band is fronted by singer Nai Palm, a complex character whose themes and reflections on life come across in her esoteric lyrics. Influenced by Stevie Wonder, Eryka Badu, and FKA Twigs, they bring a progressive, alternative sound to the R&B field. But they aren’t just influenced—they influence hip hop from Chance the Rapper, to Drake, to Anderson. Paak. Existing for only 6 years (2011), their sound started from the get-go as something definite, unique, and very much so theirs. Unafraid to leave the parameters of 4/4 and unapologetically performing key-changes mid song, Hiatus Kaiyote proliferated the amount of directions neo-soul could grow into. Every aspect of their songs fit perfectly. It’s beyond mastery of genre-bending. It’s just like the best aspects of music all convened into a bunch of songs. And that’s not just a one person effort. Paul Bender, on the bass, keeps the entire groove complex and interesting. He and Perrin Moss, the percussionist, swap shifts of keeping tempo; while one is keeping the groove going, the other is doing a freestyle-esque jazz fill or a countermelody. I fully believe the reason their music is as flawless and connected as it is, is that they are four people who have mastered their craft and understand how they relate in a musical context.

So the kid at the party put on Molasses, track 17 on their latest (2015) album, Choose Your Weapon. Immediately, a course, controlled, unique voice intertwines with a brilliant groove of a baseline. The percussion and baseline proceeds to start these syncopated rhythms and calculated breaks to a groove that demonstrates the band’s utmost mastery of tempo and feel. You can’t sit still listening to this groove. As the song progresses and intensifies, jazz fills and synth trills add layers and layers of complexities. It’s a masterpiece by the end of about 5 minutes. Similarly, Borderline with My Atoms starts and grows into a louder, percussion-heavy reiteration of “borderline, with my, atoms”. My favorite part, however, are those descending voice flourishes that work well with the “underwater” theme, sounding like flutes, mermaids, and bubbles, all while never distracting from the vibe. Actually, this structure is common across the length of the album, but it’s a unique sound that works well for them. The entire album in itself I find hard to listen to, as some tracks vary in more abstract, progressive, sample-based electronica. They never really lose the Jazz or soul vibe, but a rock influence definitely comes out a lot more in some tracks than others.

But they don’t just stop at those genres. My favorite pieces by Hiatus Kaiyote are arguably the ones with rappers. Q-Tip, Drake sampling them, and my personal favorite, Anderson. Paak. I’ll probably write an entry on him in the future. Nakamarra’s crisp snare and lush, keyboard, 30-second note licks that end Nai Palm’s rich lines like punctuation would a sentence create a beautiful jazz and hip hop hybrid. Everything is brilliant, the song coming to a new chapter 2.5 minutes in where Q-Tip’s drawn out, annunciated verse kind of propels the groove in a new direction, away from the lush vocals and into the cleaner snare, hip hop beat that’s holding everything together. His choice of emphasizing certain syllabus just compliments those syncopated rhythms perfectly. His rap verse ends abruptly as he softens and sings the last lyric of the stanza, “simply, love me”. Not only was it a brilliant way to introduce Nai Palm back to close out the song, his persona softens and he conveys a different message than if he were to have rapped it. Laputa begins a little differently, with Nai Palm playing around with her emphasized consonants and words ending in “uh”s. They apply a cool filter to her voice, and she does these separate vocal steps that are incredibly hard to replicate, due to nature of rhythm and pitch. A very unique sound I’m glad they had the creativity and boldness to pursue. Anderson. Paak’s signature hoarse voice makes a welcome entrance in a dreamy, minimal vibe, allowing him to tumble and manipulate his rhythms to create symmetric, stacked consonants and a jazz beat played on cymbals and a hi-hat. It’s brilliant, and very Anderson. The two work incredibly well together, and it’s genuinely a pleasure to listen to.

Sources:

Hiatus Kaiyote, Biography by Andy Kellman. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/hiatus-kaiyote-mn0003045620/biography

Hiatus Kaiyote Embrace the Elements in ‘Breathing Underwater’ Video. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hiatus-kaiyote-embrace-the-elements-in-breathing-underwater-video-20150810

Hiatus Kaiyote. http://www.nicheproductions.com.au/artists/hiatus-kaiyote/

Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon Review—Psychedelic Adventure Land.  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/may/01/hiatus-kaiyote-choose-your-weapon-review-psychedelic-adventure-land

Australia’s Hiatus Kaiyote Carves out a Crazy Path. http://www.npr.org/2015/05/15/406767661/australias-hiatus-kaiyote-carves-out-a-crazy-path

[gabriellahasapetrover]

Bottom of the Barrel - Debrief

1. How have you been committed to your own health in preparation for the gig?

every Monday and Tuesday before we rehearsed, there was a vocal warm up session held, i found it very useful as i have found out many different things about the functions of the vocals and the organs that are used whilst singing and why it is important to exercise them so a singer can perform to their best ability.

these sessions consisted of various vocal and facial exercises that at first we all found quite funny and silly but yet to find out that they do really have an impact on our performance as singers. One thing i found interesting is when we would work out and stretch our bodies, as i didn't realise that the whole body impacts the voice when it comes to performance, whether your tense, slouching, or just standing in a certain position.

2. How did you and the company make key decisions and changes?

each Tuesday, we would all spend a day in the venue going through and watching each groups work and after each performance we would be asked to give constructive feed back and to also be given constructive feed back by the other students/members or the gig as we all felt that it was most fair to decide on what should be in the show or not as a company. we all made sure that what ever was said to your band(s) was taken into consideration and worked on as we all wanted to make sure that we gave the best performance we could give.

3. How have you contributed to the decision-making process?

i made sure as a performer and a member of 2 groups that i gave my opinion and ideas when it came to decision making, but i also made sure my contributions either worked well with other peoples ideas or if someone else didn't particularly like my idea, i would listen to what they don’t like about it so i can see if i could construct the idea that every one agrees with.

4. What key roles were you undertaking? (organisation/marketing/composing) Include screen shots/links and photos of any marketing materials

i took the key roles of a keyboard player/vocalist in one of my groups and one of the singers in a trio. i helped out promoting the Bottom of the Barrel pages on certain social media platforms, mainly Instagram, i posted on my personal social media to go follow the page promoting the show and it came to a great success, most of my friends followed back.

5. Describe how you researched your roles and how you applied the things you found out.

i did various research but not that much as we felt like it was not needed as most of the time we felt confident with what we were doing when it came to the necessary stuff such as lyrics, keys, chords, timing, instruments, we had it mostly all under control. 

6. Describe exactly what you have done in your roles, detailing any problems that you have encountered. What went well and less well and identify the most obvious ways in which improvements could have been made. (How practices could be altered to achieve greater success). You will need to provide an evaluation of the reasons behind the successes and a well thought out explanation for future improvements. How did your roles within the project made a difference?

On the final day, the day of the performance, an incident occurred, Marie, one of the singers in our trio, lost her voice, she couldn't say a word and she had to sing lead in a song and vocalise for the others but there was no chance of her going on stage and performing. So we discussed as a group we will not perform the song she sing lead on and perform the other two songs without her harmonise/ back up vocals. this was a difficult decision as it was so last minuet and we did realise that the songs we performed without her did sound different and like something was missing, but she taught us her parts of harmony and we managed to improvise. I was a keyboard player/vocalist in Bleach and i believe our performances went well, during rehearsal there was no particular problems, the biggest problems to occur that weren't even problems was if someone forgot something, which was easily sorted as they would just get a spare instrument or cable or capo from the office to borrow, even tho it wasn't the best quality, it still worked for the time being.

7. What went well and less well in other people’s roles?

What problems have you encountered with company discipline during this project? (timekeeping, concentration, respect issues, communication skills etc…)

me being in 2 groups caused some problems, the trio was formed quite last minute so at first rehearsal time was just when we had free time as we didn't have an actual rehearsal slot, us all being in different groups caused some difficulty as there was hardly ever a time when we were all free.

8. What problems did you have technically playing the music? Analyse all solutions.

no particular problems, it was mostly just sorting out levels most of the times, but i would have to say the main issue was having trouble hearing the vocals in the songs, it was mainly due to the fact the level of the instruments over powered the singers so we had to make sure we played to a certain level.

9. Look for good examples of staging, energy, movement, body language, spontaneity, connection between band members. Also post a video of another groups performance and add your own feedback on its strengths and weaknesses

i believe when performing in bleach we were all in the zone, doing our role the best we can, which we did and it was great, but we could of connected with the audience a bit more if we all moved around and maybe interacted with each other on stage, giving eye contact, smiling at each other etc. In the other group, the trio, our songs were a lot more slower so it would so it was a bit more different connecting with the crowed, we added facial expression and hand gestures to express emotion whilst singing which was great but maybe making eye contact with the crowed maybe would off drown them in and connect with the music more. When performing the song, You make me feel, we decided to add a dramatic pause to the build up, but i didn’t want to just make it a dramatic pause, so we decided to add some comedy into it as i love making people laugh, so when i paused i made a facial expression and kept my finger up waving it around to indicate people to wait and the audience loved it, it also really brought the people in and drawn them into what was coming next.

10.  Analyse your groups connection with the audience? 

when performing in both groups i made sure that i done my part of trying to entertain whilst doing my job as a band member, i do feel like we connected to the crowed when it came to the crowed liking our music and enjoying it, but i feel like they didn’t particularly feel or connect with the music, i think the main cause to this was when we were all performing our parts either on guitar keyboard  base drums or just vocals, we were all in our own little world, we could of connected with each other more which would of then make us connect with the crowed.

11. Did you get any audience feedback? What did you find out?

yes i did, very positive feedback from my friends and family and other audience members saying that i have great stage presence and that i connect with the audience on an amazing level. i found out that when i go on stage its like i become a different person, i switch persona, into this more energetic, fierce, passionate, confident person and i do admit that when i go on stage i do kind of pull of a character, a character that i created that tries to spread joy, positivity    and a message to everyone that watches that hopefully inspires them. But i cant lie, i still get extremely nervous for performances, i used to literally shake on stage, but i faked it till i made it.

12. Any other problems that you engaged with that have not been mentioned so far?

No, non that i haven't mentioned or discussed.

[gen2mo]

So... what’s up with this blog?

It’s probably been relatively obvious from the last two or three posts that I never really intended to put this on hiatus for over half a year. And yet, here we are, with a harrowing “7 months ago” hovering under that blogpost about Car Bomb... and me, not quite knowing how to move forward with this.

But one thing I’ve definitely come around to thinking is: I don’t really know how many people read this, originally and still but no matter if it’s a thousand, a hundred or just one, I surely owe an explanation of what is going on with this blog and what I want to do with it. And you know what? This time around, let’s make it a bit more detailed. At the least, it might be more interesting that way.

Because here’s the thing: even apart from the usual ‘a lot of stuff going on in my life’-thing that every single one of us has, and which is, thus, not very informative at all, just looking at my relationship with music and the writing about it, there’s more than just a single reason for why this blog is in the state that it is in. So let’s look at them, one by one.

1. I listened to barely any Metal for probably half a year.

Somewhere around summer of 2016, maybe a bit later, I’m not entirely sure, I discovered a specific genre of electronic music: Synthwave. Now, some of you might think “’Discovered’? What’s the big discovery? Everyone’s been raving about it for ages now.” Which is true. Ever since Perturbator became well known and it was discovered that a lot of the darker, more pumping strain of that style of music is actually pretty riff-based a lot of Metal-centric blogs have been writing about it quite regularly. So it’s not like I got aware of its existence in 2016. It was rather that I got struck by it in 2016, in a way. If you’ve read this blog for a while, it probably won’t sound like news to you that I’ve always had an open heart for Pop and especially Synthpop. And not only revealed my initial digging into Synthwave quite a lot of 80s retro-Pop artitsts that made seriously fucking amazing Pop music; this reveal coincided with a phase in my life that probably had me longing for a bit of calm and harmony, be it a cheesy, plus a slight feeling of oversaturation from listening to Modern Metal primarily for quite a long time. So I dug into it deeper and ended up barely listening to anything else for probably more than half a year.

What probably gave that drive more momentum was a simple thrill that this gave me that I hadn’t felt in quite a long time: a genuine feeling of discovery. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Modern Metal and I don’t really feel that I’m jaded but when you’ve had it as your main go-to type of music for 10+ years, it is hard to listen to a new song and not immediately recognize all the common patterns. It makes it hard to get genuinely excited about anything, as, even when what you’re hearing is good, there’s just no surprise to be had anymore. But, at least for a certain while, Synthwave could give me those surprises. It was deeply refreshing, and to some extent still is. A bit like a little throwback to when I first plunged my head into Metal, back in my teens. Not just listening to it as a diversion, but truly exploring it. Commiting to it.

And that probably awoke a certain longing in me, that leads to point two...

2. I am currently trying to get back to a more intimate connection to music.

And this had been coming, for... hard to tell honestly... probably a decade. Over the course of all of those years of listening to music and writing about it I always had a weird on-and-off relationship with writing about music. I loved it for some time and then I got incredibly fed up with it, and then I got back into it. And for a very long time I thought that it might be an effect of analytical listening interfering with my purer listening pleasures; or me getting fed up with myself for falling into certain patterns in my writing; or me thinking about formulations for texts while listening interfering with the direct music listening experience. And while all of those things are factors, I’ve come to think that they are rather symptoms of a problem a bit more fundamental. Years of keeping up with releases, lsitening to them all, writing about them, analysing music for things that I can competently write about while listening to it, completely removed my intimacy with it. Really, the very simple ability to just carve out an hour of the day, start and album, lean back, close my eyes and just listen to it, note for note, detail for detail, accidental noise foe accidental noise. Letting it sink deeply into my mind, wandering the sonic space in my headphones, slowly and carefully watching what it evokes in me. A truly commited, meditative experience of music that I knew I once had but that I had distanced myself from for years and years.

Finally realizing this, what arose in me was, obviously, the wish to reexplore music in that way. Get back to albums that I’d listened to far too litle, far to little intensely and really commit to it, for at least an hour a day.

And I’ve been at this for months now and it has been a pretty amazing experience. Getting slowly back into a mindset of full concentration on a piece of music is refreshing in its own way. But it has its further effects, obviously. One of them being the question how I can organize my writing about music in a way that it doesn’t decrease my ability to concentrate fully on a pice of music when I listen to it in the long run. And I don’t think I have an answer to that yet. 

And the second major one being me getting back into a genre of Metal that I had lost sight of for quite a long time.

3. Which has led me to get back into Extreme Metal.

I always listened to Death Metal and Black Metal and all that neat extreme stuff. But over the years, I lost a bit of sight of it and just listened to what was hot at the time on the side, far removed from my deep adoration of the Extreme sphere in my later teens. Interestingly, listening to music on my big pile of ‘I still have to give this a decent spin’-candidates in a more meditation-minded way revealed to me something like an entire world I had just forgotten about. The gnarly, the skewed, the weird, the excessively harsh, the purposefully dissonant quickly turned out to be a space I so love to wander through that I struggle to remember what made me leave it in the preiphery of my vision for so long a time.

Anecdotaly, it is strangely similar to my feelings about the landscapes found in the swiss mountains. I regularly spent my summer holidays there with my grandmother when I was younger. But, getting into my earlier teenage years, I, of course, got fed up with it. Only now, almost two decades later, do I see those mountainscapes on televeision and think: “god, I want to go there again”, deep familarity and fascination with those forests and rock formations emerging again with a puzzling intensity. This odd combination of comfort, excitement and willingness to just lose yourself in something that you just want to wrap around yourself like a blanket.

Taking the time to walk back into the soundscapes of Extreme Metal felt a lot like that and ignited an intuitive love for the sphere that I had barely been able to remember. At least in this form.   

4. Which means that I’ve basicallly barely been listening to Modern Metal for almost a year. 

The likely effect of which is obvious. It made me get back into Extreme Metal hard. Which meant, after my long Synthwave exploration phase, another phase of barely listening to Modern Metal. Which is still ongoing, to be honest. Which leaves me in the uncomfortable and peculiar situation of having this long list of releases and bands that I truly, honestly, want to write about but that I have hardly any intuitive, immediate interest in listening to at the moment. Not ideal.

5. Combine that with a lingering wish to polish this blog up a bit.

But that is not all, as there’s also the matter of the blog itself, coinciding with my own music-listening journey of recent time. For, again, quite some time now I’ve looked at this blog, occasionally checking back on older posts, thinking: “Good god, I really need to proofread this”. Putting it simple without going into all the small problems: If I go on with this, I want to have this blog in a state where I can be just plainly excited when it is linked by an artist, and not worried.

Which would include going through all of its posts and proofread, spellcheck, grammar-check, wording-check, link-check, overhaul, slightly expand and just polish up everything. And I feel this would be a worthy endeavour. But there’s this lingering question of a suitable way of writing this without losing my intimate connection to the music I’m writing about. And also something else that has been bugging me for a while.

6. Also, further combine that with thoughts about moving the blog to a more suited hosting service.

And that is: I don’t really feel that tumblr is such a good platform for this style of blogging. Someone will probably read this and go: “Well, duh”. But still being kind of a novice at blogging and also a complete autodidact in all matters digital, things like comments integration, statistics and view tracking, ease of use for long-text writing, etc. have slowly but more pressingly come into my view over time.

But this presents a new problem. If I want to overhaul and polish up this blog, it would be idiotic to do this now on tumblr, if I’d want to migrate this blogs content to somewhere else anyway. But currently not quite knowing how deeply I am commited to the continuation of this blog, I also don’t quite know if paying 5-10 bucks for a proper hoster for a blog on a wordpress-basis is actually feasible.

K. And you have a shitload of uncertainty. 

Which leaves me... hanging, to be honest. What to do with this? I simply don’t know. I want to continue but I don’t know when and I don’t know where. For the time being, I’ll keep this blog hanging in hiatus alongside my own uncertainties and try to figure something out. 

I hope these explanations cleared the situation up a little bit and were at least a bit fun to read. Until next time.