#they really need to add their soundtracks to spotify

[aro-aizawa]

i forgot just how satisfying it is organising music files i want to cry

[jinxed-sinner]

It's so obvious when someone says Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss characters swear all the time that they haven't seen either show honestly.

Alastor rarely swears and only does under pressure, Charlie swears for emphasis, Angel swears more when he's upset, Husk and Adam swear casually, I don't think Niffty EVER swears, Vaggie occasionally swears in Spanish (and generally swears for emphasis like Charlie, although there are exceptions obviously), Lucifer seems more likely to swear when he's under pressure (although that's definitely not the only time he does), and Vox ans Val swear more when they're emotional (and outside of that, Val uses swearing for innuendo purposes from what I remember). And that's just Hazbin Hotel, that's not even talking about Helluva Boss.

Each character has a different way of swearing. It adds to the characters, even if people don't want to admit it and would rather shit on how much swearing there is in Vivziepop's shows. Yeah, there's a lot of swearing, but it's not one-size-fits-all swearing like so many people treat it. Less than half the songs on the season 1 soundtrack (7 out of 16 songs) are marked explicit on Spotify, and those songs also use the same swearing trends I mentioned above (Happy Day In Hell has swearing because Charlie uses fuck for emphasis, Hell Is Forever has swearing because Adam, Stayed Gone has swearing because Vox gets progressively more stressed which makes him more inclined to swear, Respectless has swearing because Velvette, Loser, Baby has swearing because Husk, You Didn't Know includes swearing because Adam and Lute PLUS the fact that Charlie also swears under pressure, and Finale uses fuck for emphasis).

(Side note, it's actually really interesting that there's not a whole lot of swearing in Stayed Gone. Vox swears a grand total of four or five times? And each time it's because he's stressed. Loser, Baby has the most swearing if anyone's wondering. It has double the swearing that Stayed Gone and You Didn't Know do)

Anyway it's really funny to me, as someone who has seen Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss including both Helluva Boss shorts, that there are people who are like "Vivziepop uses swearing without a punchline and it's bad because all her characters swear the same amount" because swearing DOESN'T need a punchline and not every character swears the same (see: the nearly 100 times Adam swears vs Alastor’s 6).

I could do an entire analysis on when and how Hazbin Hotel characters swear and what it says about them, as well as how it's utilized within the context of the show. It's actually really interesting and clever on the writing team's part (which obviously includes Viv).

[pizzaqueen]

#23 for the spotify wrapped fic thingy!! 👀

23 was Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace by Cheap Trick

I feel like I’m cheating a little, here, because this is a snippet from a WIP (called Ain’t Even Done With the Night where Steve and Eddie go to a concert somewhere and then Steve wants to pick up a couple of girls when they go to a bar after and Eddie goes along with it because he just does—nothing really happens between them and the girls btw!!) that just happens to have this song on the ‘soundtrack’.

But I do think it fits the song? And I did write it just for this, so hopefully that counts!!!

“So…” Steve shifts, making the ancient mattress dip as he moves; the springs creak, echoed moments later through the wall from the bed in the adjoining room. Those springs are probably squeaking for a different reason though. “Are you going to see that chick again?”

Eddie glances over at Steve. There’s something guarded in the tone of his voice, and his face doesn’t give anything away either. “Maybe.”

“Cool.” Steve nods, pressing his lips together. “I mean, she gave you her address, and we’re not that far away, so it would be easy.”

“Yeah, she said we could be penpals.”

Steve huffs. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

“It would just be as friends,” Eddie says, cautiously, wondering at the bitterness in Steve’s voice. Or maybe he’s imagining it.

“Sure.”

“No, really.” Eddie’s brow furrows. “I’m not interested in her. She wasn’t interested in me.” He pauses, then adds, “Except as a friend.”

“Then why…” Steve shakes his head. “Why did you agree to go back to their place?”

“Because you wanted to.”

Steve blinks. “You’re saying you just went along with it because I wanted to?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to ruin your night.” Eddie lets his head tip back, thunking against the wall. “Which I guess I did, anyway.”

“Dude. I told you—” A muscle in Steve’s jaw ticks. “Look, if I cared more about getting laid than I cared about you, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be back there with her.”

“Aww, shucks.” The beat of Eddie’s heart belies his teasing tone, and he’s glad Steve can’t hear it.

“I mean it. You don’t know…” Steve toys with the comforter. “You don’t know how much you…” He sighs, shaking his head.

“Steve?”

“Nothing, man.” Steve runs a hand over his face. Silence stretches out, punctuated by the continued creaks from the other room, now accompanied by grunts and moans, and the buzzing of the bare bulb, the traffic outside. “Look, I’m glad you’re feeling better and…” He sighs again. “We should probably get some sleep if we want to get back early.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything, just watches as Steve slips down, rolling over so his back is toward Eddie. There’s a churning in his stomach and, before he knows what he’s doing, he’s saying, “I wasn’t sick.”

“What?” Steve glances over his shoulder.

“I didn’t feel sick, back at the apartment.”

More creaks as Steve pushes himself up, sitting beside Eddie again. “Then what…”

“I just…” This is it, Munson. Now or never. Eddie draws in a deep breath and says, “I couldn’t be there, knowing you were with her.” He looks at Steve. “You know?”

“Did you like her?”

Eddie sighs. “Steve.”

Steve gives a little shakes of his head.

“C’mon, man,” Eddie says, hating the pleading tone in his voice, “don’t make me say it.”

There’s a sharp inhale of breath and then a soft, “Oh,” and Eddie’s chest goes tight and his stomach drops.

“Yeah…” The noise from the next room over stops; a door opens and closes down the hall. “Do you want me to get another room?” Eddie tries to keep his tone light, but he’s pretty sure he fails. Spectacularly.

“No.” Steve’s voice is certain, brooks no arguments, and when Eddie looks at him, he doesn’t see disgust or pity or anything except… Oh. Oh shit. “No,” Steve repeats, hand darting across the worn comforter, stopping short of grabbing Eddie’s, “I want you to stay,” and it’s all Eddie needs to hear.

[havocmadden]

"if i'm having fun it's good and if i'm not having fun it's bad" you're so so so real for this!! anyway sorry i disappeared for like a week so i'm going to ask more questions to make up for it: 1) i know i'm late to the spotify wrapped party but who were your favorite artists this year? are there any songs in particular that stood out to you? this can be either for disney artists or not it's up to you 2) how are you feeling about rise of red coming out next year? i know the plot looks too crazy even for descendants standards, and it helps that it's a brand new creative team, but is there anything specific you're hoping to see from the expanded world? 3) i need to hear your thoughts on zombies 4 because i know there's no way addison will have yet another identity crisis - gcwca secret santa

hi !!!! i hope u had a good week when you disappeared and not like, a terrible one!

to answer your questions, my fave artists were mostly non disney channel :( i think the only disney channel who made it into my top 100 was some sabrina songs :( but! my top five were:

noah kahan (so real)

fall out boy (they counted november this year which i know bc they would NOT have been in my top 5 otherwise. they were my nano soundtrack. tho tbh i think this nano project made me an actual for real fall out boy fan)

taylor swift

dessa

xana

if we could add some i feel like chappell roan should've been in my top five but alas :( also i saw two out of my top five in concert this year :) if we count tickets i bought for next year's concerts i am seeing 4/5 of my top five!! (i also saw chappell roan and she was SOOOOOO good in person). this year turned me into a genuine Concert Girlie (gender neutral) so that's been fun. or it would be, if i didn't have to drive 2 1/2 hours at best to get to one bc i live in the middle of fucking nowhere and no one comes here :(

as for the rise of red: honestly, i'm pretty excited! i'm not allowing myself to feel Bad about it until we get more information. plus, it's giving me the thing i always wanted out of the descendants franchise (qoh kid) so honestly this like, really works for me. like maybe when i watch it later it will be bad? and i'll be upset and disappointed? but. in the meantime, i'm having a great time! still living on the qoh kid high! like, the plot seems wild but personally i'm like. "descendants as a franchise never made sense and i'm getting what i personally wanted out of this franchise from it so i'm having a good time until proven otherwise"

i think a lot of people have strong feelings about it bc of cam, which is totally valid and is their right, but my personal feelings are since the core four aren't coming back, i'm okay with it. disney was never going to let their biggest franchise since hsm lie, yknow? i think this is the best it could've been in that sense of it? idk.

as for zombies 4. truly i have NO idea. honestly the most fun i have ever had with the zombies franchise was watching all three of them with two of my friends whilst we were all stoned, and personally i hope rupaul comes back because i thought it was funny. i'm so sorry if you're a zombies stan but they are not high art to me. they are fun little movies to watch while i get high and then i do not think about them until i want to show someone a silly little dcom franchise and jumpscare them with the presence of rupaul. personally i hope zombies 4 introduces addison's cousin from the human side of the family named allison who is now the one who gets to have identity criseses who is also played by meg donnelly. i hope coach has a new job. i hope his legal name is coach. i hope ej caswell finally gets to leave this discord. i hope they make a reference to the winchesters.

[rebelcourtesan]

NaNoWriMo Tips and Tricks

It's finally here. National Novel Writing Month is upon us. A challenger for writers to write 50k words within 30 days. This will be my sixth time participating and I've won each time using these tricks and tips below.

Write what you love. Write a romance, if you like romance. Write horror if you like horror. Action thriller, mystery, drama, etc. If you write what you enjoy, you'll have more motivation to keep writing and be inspired.

What helps my creativity is music, especially ambience or original soundtracks from videogames or films. Try to match what you're trying to write. Use the soundtrack from the Notebook for romance scenes, listen to the soundtrack from Resident Evil games or Dead Space for horror or tense scenes. Music and sound can really pull you into creating a scene. I tend to use Spotify as there is less distraction compared to Youtube, but use Youtube if you need to.

Do not look at other people's progress. Some people will blow through Nanowrimo in a week's time. While that's awesome for anyone to complete NaNoWriMo so quickly, it can discourage someone who struggles with writing. If you're someone that can easily be dishearten, I suggest not looking at other people's progress and focus on your own.

DO NOT EDIT WHILE YOU WRITE!!!! Seriously, editing will seriously mess with your word count and should be saved after you reach your goal or completed your novel. It's time consuming and will chop words off your total. Trust me, your first draft WILL NOT be the final version of your novel before publishing. It WILL go through several versions and edits before you can submit it for publishing. So save yourself the headache and wait until after completion to start editing yourself. However, for the challenge, it's okay to go back and add a scene, dialogue, or details in order to add more words to your count.

Use the NaNoWriMo website to help track your progress. It has a handy graph that will tell you how many words you have to write each time to reach 50k by November 30th. The amount goes up and down as you write more or less. It's a really good way to track your progress and give motivation.

Try to build yourself a cushion of words each day. Chances are with work, family, and real life, you won't be able to hit your daily word goal. So when you are able to hit it in one day, try to keep writing so you can take it easy some days when you're busy.

I suggest using writing programs that can be used on your phone and computer. During a break or lunch at work, commuting, waiting for class to start, or having to wait in a long line somewhere, you can take our your phone and write a few words while you wait. GoogleDocs is a free online writing tool that auto-saves your work and can be freely access anywhere with internet connection. You can also use Micorsoft Word since it has a Onedrive cloud where you can access your work.

[teeth--thief]

Have you seen Tetris (2023)? Unrelated: what music do you like, or listen to?

-R

I have seen Tetris, yes! Just a few weeks ago, sometime in March, matter of fact, so your timing is particularly incredible. It first haunted me in music form, believe it or not, I kept getting songs from its soundtrack recommend on Spotify.

While I usually really don't like the KGB is in your walls stuff that the Western films always insist on showing, I'll make an exception for this movie because it's pretty fun. I actually liked the Evil Liar KGB had going on, I thought it was very funny. I do have one complaint about the whole thing, though. I wish the pixel animation was utilised throughout the whole movie, not just in That One Scene... :( Just small, little bits (ha) would have been fine...

Fun (not really) fact: I was first introduced to the character of Robert Maxwell through this movie (you have to forgive me for not giving many fucks about the aristocrats of Britain). I have then immediately learnt that his daughter is Ghislaine Maxwell. The Ghislaine Maxwell. Jeffrey Epstein's partner (in crime). How delightful...

What music do I like... That's a terrible question to ask me because I'm very passionate about music... I have playlists for everything I like, even Chernobyl related one... there's not a free minute in my day that I'm not listening to something. I associate music with everything.

I mean, judging solely by the fact that my wardrobe consists of one too many Sabaton and Rammstein shirts, I'd have to say I'm particularly fond of metal. And punk. And rock. I occasionally listen to Hollywood Undead because I discovered it when I was a... young teen, much too young to be listening to that kind of stuff lmao, and so I feel oddly nostalgic about them.

I really like the... weird and experimental stuff? If it has some kind of a connection with nature, I will probably like it. I've been a long time fan of Cosmo Sheldrake - and he just released a brand new album Eye To The Ear on the 12th of April AND a new single just a few days ago... it's everything I could have expected and more, truly. His brother, Merlin (whimsical names is the theme) is a biologist and he wrote a book about fungi, which I really like, but haven't finished because I didn't have the time nor brain capacity to take in all that new information.

And continuing with the theme of slighly weird, I also enjoy video games/movies OSTs. The creepier the better. Little Nightmares (I&II) soundtrack? Perfection. I talk a lot of shit about HBO's Chernobyl but that show's OST is phenomenal (and that's the last nice thing I have to say about it 🙄). From not horror-esque soundtracks: stuff from DOOM.

I've also been mesmerised by the Polish folk music used throughout The Peasants and have been regularly listening to the whole soundtrack. I need to rewatch that movie ASAP... more on movie tracks, I also really like Mad Max: Fury Road's and Moon (2009)'s OSTs.

I also like older, classic bands... Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, Bronski Beat, Depeche Mode... Kult, if we're talking local... And because I AM beating the toxic masculinity allegations: MARINA, Paris Paloma, Caro Emerald and sometimes even Lana Del Rey and Mitski. Other than that, I'm rarely attached to one particular artist or band, I usually like two or three songs and hate the rest haha

I'm gonna add a bunch of songs I like under the cut as a little treat, just because:

[wildernezz]

PLEASE LISTEN TO 13 THE MUSICAL PLEASE

okay so there's this musical called 13 that i have an emotional attachment to specifically bc it was the first musical i ever performed but it's honestly such a silly goofy musical and i absolutely need it to get more attention.

im just gonna rattle off some things about the musical please stick with me i swear it's silly pleaseplease

plot overview: Evan Goldman, a 12 year old boy who's just about to turn 13. he's just moved from New York to Indiana because of his parent's divorce and he's set on becoming popular in order to make sure his bar mitzvah isn't lame. he ends up meeting a bunch of new people and causing a bunch of chaos and i have no idea how to explain the rest of it other than "average middle school drama" but i swear it's good in the "wow this is so stupid i love it" way.

musicals it's pretty similar to: Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen (except without the weird "pretending to be a dead kid's best friend" stuff), Heathers (again, without the killing bits)

other things to note before getting into it (basically my thoughts and me explaining what versions to avoid): DO NOT WATCH THE NETFLIX VERSION. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT WATCH THE NETFLIX VERSION. i also haven't found many bootlegs of the musical on YouTube that were good (honestly the cast i was with when we performed it were my favorite but i'm pretty biased and there's no public recordings of it anyways), so i'd recommend just listening to the soundtrack on Spotify. SPECIFICALLY LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY RECORDING THO, THE OTHER ONE IS MID IN MY OPINION SO I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT.

some other things to try convince u plsplsplspls: THE SHOW HAS A LOTTA OFF-HAND KINDA OFFENSIVE HUMOR SO KEEP THAT IN MIND. IT'S A LITTLE SOUTH PARK-Y IN A WAY BUT I'M NOT SURE HOW EXACTLY TO DESCRIBE IT?? THE BEST EXAMPLE I CAN GIVE IS THAT THERE'S A WHOLE SONG CALLED "TERMINAL ILLNESS" WHERE EVAN JUST CONVINCES THIS ONE KID TO EXPLOIT HIS DISABILITY INTO GETTING THEM SOMETHING THEY BOTH WANT. SO LIKE JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND.

other than that though, the characters are really silly. like they're all super weird, awkward, and goofy because of the fact that they're all young teens and even though some of it gives second-hand embarrassment, i feel like the fact that they're just silly little kids is what makes them all so lovable. there's also a bunch of songs that do kind of hit hard in the "wow i remember feeling that way and i still kinda do feel like that damn" which i think just adds to the charm. "Good Enough" is definitely one of those songs imo, but listen to the full soundtrack first before just skipping to it i swear it hits hard with an emotional attachment first.

also uh ariana grande was in it or sumn. she didn't even have a major role tho which is funny. and you can tell that at the very end the writers were like "FUCK WE GOTTA EXPLOIT HER TALENT" and let her riff for the entire ending song which i think is funny LMAO.

i've got no idea what else to put here just please listen to them i swear theyre silly guys please.

[absyntthe]

People you want to get to know tag game

Was tagged by @layalu :3

Last Song: I've been listening to a lot of video game soundtracks. I think the very last thing I listened to was Bismarck's theme from FFXIV. I think it's really neat that the boss themes in FFXIV aren't what you'd expect from boss music. Bismarck had no right to be that groovy btw. I don't know if that's the case across the rest of the Final Fantasy series as I've only played 14 & uhh Kingdom Hearts idk if that counts lol. I also have been listening to a Resident Evil Chill playlist on Spotify.

Favorite Color: You cannot ask an artist this. You just can't. I love all colors idk if that's a cop out LOL. It's probably easier for me to tell you the colors I don't like.

Last Movie/Show: I don't watch a whole lot of stuff. I think the last movie I watched was My Big Fat Greek Wedding with my one IRL. And the last show I watched was The Walking Dead with an internet friend. I kind of view watching shows and movies as a group activity I suppose? It's hard for me to sit down and watch something all the way through on my own, which is wild because I used to binge TV shows on my own when I was a teen. Plugging my Letterbox'd.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Maybe I'm just an indecisive person because I can't answer this one either. I think right now I prefer savory or spicy more. I eat way too many sweets and I need to cut down on that but they're the only easily-grabbable snack foods we have in the house rn 😩

Relationship Status: In a relationship.

Last Thing I Googled: Urth's Fount boss guide. It's an FFXIV base game boss and I am queueing up for it atm (been waiting for AN HOUR because it's dead content). I need it for my Wondrous Tails quest book tho 😩 As I was writing this post one of the DPS's gave up waiting...I will never forget u queue friend

Current Obsession: FFXIV i dunno if you can tell... 👉👈 I'm still sporadically playing Palia (and running a blog for it) My Dragon Age playthrough with the bf is kind of on hold because we're obsessed with/playing different games atm

Last Book: I've been trying to read more this year because after college I just don't read books anymore :( I'm currently reading Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar. I'm not religious by any means but I've found myself scrolling through Fundiesnark content and researching fundamentalist religions and cults the past few years. (they're scary)

Looking Forward To: I started up my rock-tumbling hobby again, so I'm looking forward to Wednesday when I get to check them! They will more than likely need to go through stage 1 again but it's cool checking on them and recognizing the rocks through each cycle. Also looking forward to TWD: The Ones Who Live in February, and D&D kicking back up with my group on Saturday.

Tag nine people whose answers you are interested in!

I get so nervous about tagging people. If we're mutuals consider yourself tagged.

Totally forgot to add a blank, here it is:

Last Song:

Favorite Color:

Last Movie/Show:

Sweet/Spicy/Savory:

Relationship Status:

Last Thing I Googled:

Current Obsession:

Last Book:

Looking Forward To:

[its-no-biggie]

so i just finished the final episode of aot..... i wont say anything about the plot (mainly bc i feel like i need to rewatch at least this episode if not the whole show to really get a handle on it tbh. classic aot moment) but i will say that the background music was INCREDIBLE. so many iconic tracks from the first few seasons made a reappearance, which was great not only because the early soundtrack goes astronomically hard, but also because it really adds to the time weirdness thats been going on this whole season - something something using the classic tracks to subtly remind the viewer of the past? anyway its SO GOOD i feel like soundtracks in general are pretty underrated but it really makes SUCH a difference. anyway im gonna see if that end credits song is on spotify so i can listen to it on repeat for the rest of my life

[thewitchkingiscool-ace]

I am currently in a rage. So do you know the game Miitopia? And its iconic soundtrack? Well i was just playing it and being like “damn this is a banger i really need to add some of these tracks to my playlist” so i waddle my way over to Spotify and click on Miitopia’s soundtrack. And for some reason all the songs look like this.

They’re all greyed out. I can’t listen to the previews (yes i’m stuck with free spotify so that might be the problem), i can’t add them to playlists, and when i click on the play button so that it just plays the whole album, it flashes up one of the tracks for a split second then plays something random that spotify has added to the playlist for some reason. Let me show you.

It instead plays a bunch of movie soundtracks (which i would call “random” if it wasn’t for the fact that i had a whole playlist for movie soundtracks, but some of the ones appearing aren’t ones that i added) instead of what i wanted.

And it’s not doing this for any other soundtrack on Spotify and i’m real sad now cus i love miitopia and omg its soundtrack is a banger

maybe if i had premium this wouldn’t happen

[feech-phylicia]

for the ask game 1, 17, and 26?

I really need to stop reblogging these and then logging off and not answering until 2 days later :/ sorry!

6 songs you listen to most?

according to spotify my current top 6 tracks are:

Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy, Foxes

Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down

Jamie All Over - Mayday Parade

Young And Doomed - Frank Iero, The Future Violents

Ain't It Fun - Paramore

Freaking Out! - Anarbor

I think its also important to add that For The Dancing And The Dreaming by John Powell from the How to Train Your Dragon 2 soundtrack has been on loop in my head

17) what was the last lie you told?

uh, i don't actually know? I probably told my parents I did something that I hadn't actually done? it was probably last fall and it was probably schoolwork related

26) are you happy with the person you've become?

I'm trying to be, but I'm about to turn 20 and lots of things are changing in my life and I'm still figuring out who I am and who I want to be. I'm trying to give myself grace and understand that I'm going to make mistakes and have regrets. Overall? so far, yes. I am a work in progress though.

[vnyverse]

Cozy nights

Hello little ones, (even if youre not so little or if im littler than you, im 172cm)

I hope today felt nice, I relaxed after a long day of anxiety because I was dumb and missed my scholarship deadline. But thats fine, alls well, Im going to apply for another scheme. I had some tea my uncle brought from Taiwan, boy was it good :). I had some alcohol after that and asian flush is really coming through. Today, i would like to share with you content that soothes me when I can't sleep or cry too much.

Podcasts

Anything Joe Pera (Spotify/Youtube)

I think I am quite like him sometimes, I like to make observations about my surroundings and ask questions in my mind that sound stupid hence I dont verbalise them. I am a mom friend and my friends rely on me lots but I think im still a child.

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

Come on, need I elaborate?

Bird Alone Soundtrack

Youtube Channels

yanghaiying ( soothing life advice)

growing up in a chinese family, its just so comforting when i see her do calligraphy. i used to do lots of it as a kid and really liked it. She also gives advice for lots of things and its nice hearing all that.

Malinda Herman Official (song covers with dogs/cats)

Something about her covers just make me smile, shes referred to as grandma in her comments section, isnt that so endearing?

in due time I will add more, for now please take care of yourselves. Vent if you need to, request anything if you want to. Whatever is bad shall pass, and whatever good you desire you need to approach, no one is going to spoonfeed you. Do good in your own terms and I wish you all the best, let's work hard together.

[collectionoftulips]

Hello! I hope that you are well! I am super curious about your writing process. How long does it take you to come up with a chapter? Do you have a playlist? If you feel comfortable, could you share one song that represent Both Sides Now story? Also, I am fascinated by how you crafted deep emotions in your writing. Anyways, take care and I am sending you love and positives vibes.

❤️❤️❤️❤️ What a lovely question, thank you so much!

First, I think a bit about 'what do I want to convey/what kind of story do I want to write?'. Sometimes that can be a concept, a vibe I want to convey, a specific end point I want to reach, so it can be really diverse. Usually, I will have a vague idea of this already as there usually is a reason why I'm drawn for a particular concept or prompt.

Then I'm a huge proponent of outlining a story. I know some people do it really thoroughly before they even start writing, but I'm somewhere in the middle and tbh I use outlining continuously through writing a story in different ways. But I'm not massively rigid with it because the story can easily develop and you might realise that certain bits need some 'space to breathe' so I might add certain scenes etc. But before I start the first chapter, I try to have an outline for at least the first couple of chapters. As much as I love being in a world or just having the characters exist in it, I think it's important to write to something. You have an end goal in mind, a theme or something that you are working towards so I even try to have descriptions etc that partly do 'world building', but those descriptions need to also matter either to the character or serve the main thematic narrative of the story. Describing everything is impossible so figuring out what's important and focus on a few things is kinda my approach (then whether it's 'the way you're supposed to do it' I have no idea). Sorry I'm getting rambly but I really like thinking/talking about writing (and if anyone wanna share their thoughts, feel free!)

But yeah, I've noticed that I at least try to have a solid outline for the first few chapters of the story with the end point set at the bare minimum. With stories where I haven't done that as much, I end up getting a little bit stuck, even if I might have an endpoint etc.

I do have a playlist for my stories, where the vibe or ambiance of the song is way more important than specific. It tends to be a lot of melancholy singer-songwriter stuff, which tbh might be my genre, but also the music needs to blend to the background when I'm writing. Although I don't always listen to the playlists when writing. Sometimes I don't use any music in the background and sometimes I put on classic music (so like a lot of Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky etc) because quite frankly sometimes lyrics are distracting.

As far as what song embodies Both Sides Now it has to be the song that inspired the title of the story:

(Joni Mitchell left Spotify as a platform because of Spotify's platforming of Joe Rogan and COVID misinformation so I hope this version should hopefully be her official YouTube. Side note: has people got any experience with Apple Music? Is it any good?)

But I don't know if that answer is a cop out or not. There's a good number of songs that I now firmly associate in my head with certain stages of BSN. For million years ago, I also did like a 'soundtrack' because I fell deep into learning my learning my photo editing software rabbit hole that might be of interest about the other ones

When it comes to writing emotions in the story, I guess the really 'obvious' point is that at least for me, I try to relate to the situation that the character is going through, so I try to get a sense of what I think my reaction might be (and how it might probably be in reality versus what I theoretically think my reaction would be). I then try to imagine that in light of the background of the character, how would the characters behave in that situation. What is at the forefront of their minds? What's the most crucial thing for them in this moment? etc.

Another thing that I think has made the relating or I guess empathising with the characters easier or given what I think/hope is a different way of relating to characters' behaviours is that during the pandemic, I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole of watching therapists react to reality television (and using that as a jumping off point to talk about a bunch of stuff) and I think that's probably helped inform different ways of understanding human behaviour. I might watch a reality television clip and be like 'wtf are they doing?' and then listen to the therapists sort of talk about why someone might behave in that way etc and while I'm definitely not a psychologist, I weirdly think that watching that type of content just made me train that 'operating from a place of empathy' muscle and I try/hope that I try to translate that into my writing, even when characters behave in ways I might not do or might not agree with (but if I understand the rationale for their motivation it becomes less - for me - about agreeing or disagreeing with certain behaviour).

Thank you so much for this really really lovely ask and sorry if it got a bit wordy. I just really enjoyed answering it and I hope it was useful or interesting to read as well!

[maximuswolf]

Fuat Talay Saz Cover Gnossienne No. 1

Fuat Talay Saz Cover Gnossienne No. 1 Erik Satie's Gnossienne No. 1 is a beautiful piece on its own, but Fuat Talay's saz cover really takes it in a new direction. The saz, with its unique, almost mystical sound, adds a layer of depth that I think makes it even better than the original. There’s something about the way the saz brings out the emotion in the music—it feels more soulful, more immersive. Honestly, this version needs to be included in a video game soundtrack, where it could really set the mood. It’s too good to go unnoticed by more people.Do any of you have cover songs you like more than the originals? I’d love to hear about them if you do. I’m always on the lookout for new music, especially if it’s something that reimagines a well-known song or piece in a creative way. And if you’ve got any recommendations for music similar to this—whether it's more covers with traditional instruments or something in the same emotional style—send them my way! If it's on Spotify, a link would be awesome. Submitted September 08, 2024 at 04:34AM by Overall-Flan7135 https://ift.tt/Y8gaL9M via /r/Music

[designaday]

Unautomation

Up until some recent update, when you created a playlist in Apple Music, the app would automatically generate an image from album art of tracks within the playlist. If there were three or less albums in the playlist, it would just use the album art from the first album to be added. For example, my "The Lord of the Rings" playlist only has three albums in it: the soundtracks from the three films.

If the playlist contained at least four albums, it would use the album art of the first for albums to be added.

This worked quite well. Spotify does the exact same thing. For some reason, Apple decided to change this behavior. Now, when you create a new playlist, you are presented with a popup dialog.

If you click the “+” button, you can choose to select a file or select a photo from the Photos app. I suppose that’s a feature some people will enjoy using. If you don't select an image, then when you add music to the playlist, you'll get something like this.

Booooriiiing! As far as I can tell, the color used to shade this abstract graphic is pulled from the album art of the first album in the playlist. If you choose to edit the playlist, you’ll again get the dialog, and it will present you with other abstract options, but when you choose one, it will appear in grayscale.

Doing some searching, I discovered that you can still get an image generated from album artwork if you first select the music that you want to be in the playlist and then choose New > Playlist from selection. You’ll get the same dialog, and it will present you with the abstract options, but if you select the “+” option without selecting a file, it will generate the grid of album covers.

I have to believe Apple had a reason for making this change, but its current behavior seems like a bug. There are only 8 options or the abstract covers, so the artwork isn’t going to do much to distinguish between your playlists. Unless you do a lot more work to create custom art for your playlist. Do I really need to create an automation in Photoshop to do what Apple Music used to do?

[fortunawren]

lyrics iv;

Let’s see what we get this time. The boys can wait. I’m essentially using this for mediation to relax my mind.

“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage The Elephant

I’m honestly not sure where I heard this song first, but I will say I very recently connected with the following lines:

“Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked Money don't grow on trees I got bills to pay I got mouths to feed There ain't nothing in this world for free I know I can't slow down I can't hold back Though you know I wish I could Oh, no there ain't no rest for the wicked Until we close our eyes for good"

I’m using these lyrics to justify my toxic work ethic.

“Be Kind (with Halsey)” by Marshmellow

I played this song so many times in 2020 that it ended up on my Spotify Wrapped. I really love the message here, and I’m happy this came up on my shuffle. Take it to heart, truly.

“I know you need, I know you need The upper hand even when we aren't fighting 'Cause in the past, you had to prepare every time, yeah Don't wanna leave, don't wanna leave But if you're gonna fight, then do it for me I know you're built to love, but broken now, so just try, yeah I know you're chokin' on your fears Already told you I'm right here I will stay by your side every night I don't know why you hide from the one And close your eyes to the one Mess up and lie to the one that you love When you know you can cry to the one Always confide in the one You can be kind to the one that you love”

“The Only Exception” by Paramore

I’ve listened to this song like a prayer my whole life, I think. I’ve always thought the message was a little sad, even though this is considered a love song but she says the following lines:

“When I was younger, I saw My daddy cry and curse at the wind He broke his own heart and I watched As he tried to reassemble it And my mama swore that she would Never let herself forget And that was the day that I promised I'd never sing of love if it does not exist But, darling, you are the only exception.”

It’s not a love song. It’s a surrender to feelings that she was trying to kill within herself. The entire song she’s saying she knows it’s going to end, and it’s not real.

But she went for it anyway.

I’ll add a bonus line from this song;

“And I've always lived like this Keeping a comfortable distance And up until now, I had sworn To myself that I'm content with loneliness Because none of it was ever worth the risk.”

Of course, she ends with “I’m on my way to believing” but then her relationship failed so what did we learn?

“Leave a Light On” by Tom Walker

This song was written for those struggling. I’ve largely used it to soundtrack scenes between my characters to pan out deep connections/friendships. It’s a beautiful song.

“If you look into the distance, there's a house upon the hill Guiding like a lighthouse It's a place where you'll be safe to feel our grace 'Cause we've all made mistakes If you've lost your way I will leave the light on”

Everyone wants a friend like this, and I hope you find them.

“Losing Your Memory” by Ryan Star

Another sad song, of course. And another song from The Vampire Diaries soundtrack. (👀👀). I’ve used this song for personal writings as well because it’s emotionally gut-wrenching. I’ve always been drawn to this song, but I’ve truthfully never deep dived on the lyrics.

I loved these lines:

“Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up All the best of what we've done is yet to come Wake up, it's time, little girl, wake up Just remember who I am in the morning You're losing your memory now.”

It’s a sweet reminder.

“savior” by Beowulf

This is a cover of w Hillsong UNITED song called “oceans” that this youth pastor once showed me. I’m not super religious, but I do love the devotion and sadness in this song. Again, it’s surrender.

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior.”

Regardless of faith, it’s utter devotion. Chills, always.

“Where do we go now?” by Gracie Abrams

This song is new on my playlist (within the last couple months). I’ve always liked it for scene writing, and just the emotion in the question of “where do we go now?”

My favorite lines:

“I know I changed overnight So I can't blame you for fightin' And I'd be losin' my mind If you lived in your writin' 'Cause now I'm half of myself here without you You're the best in my life and I lost you And we had no control when it fell through It was one-sided, hate how I hurt you.”

“Ashley” by Halsey

“Ashley” is actually my theme song. The whole song, word for word. Halsey struggles with Bipolar Disorder and when you’re trying to fight mental illness in a bid to be successful and creative, it feels like a constant cycle between death and rebirth, high and low. I’ve got so many parts of this song that I could drop below, but I’m going to leave it with the current theme of my life.

Lines:

“And I don't wanna be somebody in America, just fighting the hysteria I only wanna die someday.”

“Mama” by My Chemical Romance

I’ve oddly been obsessed with this song since I was 12. Way wrote it in response to 9/11 and the Iraq war. I used it for a Kylo Ren / Leia mash-up because the lyrics fit.

“And when we go don't blame us, yeah We'll let the fires just bathe us, yeah You made us oh so famous; We'll never let you go She said, "You ain't no son of mine!" For what you've done they're Gonna find a place for you And just you. Mind your manners when you go. And when you go don't return to me my love, That's right Mama, we all go to hell.”

“Under the Water” by The Pretty Reckless.

If you didn’t know, the lead singer of The Pretty Reckless played Cindy Lou Who in the live-action grinch. Her style has vastly changed, and for the better. Her music, her lyrics and everything about her seethes beauty.

“There's not a time for being younger And all my friends are enemies And if I cried unto my mother No, she wasn't there, she wasn't there for me Don't let the water drag you down (Don't let the water drag you down) Don't let the water drag you down.”

I probably should’ve understood my obsession with this song a lot sooner.

“Illuminated” by Hurts

I fell in love with Hurts because surprise, surprise The Vampire Diaries. L.J. Smith really did a number on my soul, loves. I particularly love the drama behind their songs, and use them to write scenes.

I’d probably have sex to this song just to see if there’s a build.

“Swing me these sorrows And try delusion for a while It's such a beautiful lie You've got to lose inhibition Romance your ego for a while Come on, give it a try Suddenly my eyes are open Everything comes into focus, oh We are all illuminated Lights are shining on our faces, blinding.”

“Phases” by Maggie Lindemann

Y’all ever fuck with someone that couldn’t decide if they wanted you, someone else, to be single, or to be happily married with two children? This is the song for you.

“You only want me in phases Only hit me up when you're wasted Hate it, treat me like a game, I won't play it You only love me when you feel like it I don't think love's supposed to feel like this Phases, take my heart, throw it on the pavement Break it, just so you can stitch it up and save it You only love me when you feel like it I don't think love's supposed to feel like this If you love me, if you don't, you should let me go.”

“I Don’t Wanna Know” by Charlie XCX

If you’re like me, and you overplay this song, just leave. It’s not even worth it.

“I know I'm losing you, so come on, tell the truth Don't you tell me you're sorry, don't pretend you're stormy 'Cause I don't wanna know, I already know What you've done, what you've done.”

“Selfish” by Madison Beer

This song helped me process one of the worst heartbreaks of my life.

“I don't wanna break your thread and needle Tryna stitch you, but I can't, I refuse Shouldn't love you, but I couldn't help it Had a feeling that you never felt it I always knew that you were too damn selfish Don't know why I looked the other way I wanted you to change, yeah I shouldn't love you, but I couldn't help it I always knew that you were too damn selfish.”

“Without Me” by Halsey

I’m getting tired of the breakup songs on my shuffle, but I have to admit this is a particularly good one.

“Found you when your heart was broke I filled your cup until it overflowed Took it so far to keep you close (keep you close) I was afraid to leave you on your own I said I'd catch you if you fall And if they laugh, then fuck 'em all (all) And then I got you off your knees Put you right back on your feet Just so you could take advantage of me.”

Halsey wrote this song about G-Eazy after he cheated on her after she miscarried their child. Great pain produces some of the most beautiful art. I’m so happy she’s in a better place now and finally the mother she wanted to be.

“Stay” by Rihanna

This song has been coming up on my shuffle a lot recently. I’m still trying to figure out if I’m a psychic or not so it could be channeled message, or just because I felt particularly called out by Mikky Ekko when he sang:

“It's not much of a life you're living It's not just something you take, it's given Round and around and around and around we go Oh, now tell me now, tell me now, tell me now you know Not really sure how to feel about it Something in the way you move Makes me feel like I can't live without you It takes me all the way And I want you to stay.”

And of course, we can’t leave out these lines:

“Well, funny you're the broken one But I'm the only one who needed saving 'Cause when you never see the light It's hard to know which one of us is caving.”

And yes, when I was in middle school, I did update my status using song lyrics.