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breadbox-draws · 30 days

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KK LOOKS SO GOOFY AS DJ F-LIGHT/pos!!!! I WANNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THE TWO CHARTER AUS!!!!!

i'll be honest, i'm a little (pleasantly) surprised to see enthusiastic interest in these silly ideas- not as a self-deprecatory thought, mind, but more of an unexpectedness since this is a space where i just toss random doodles to the wind hdowjfjdk

i appreciate it very much though! yall folks and friends have been very kind <3

onto the ask at hand, i'll start with some preliminary details. Both iterations are some years older!, meaning that KK would be around his early thirties when he becomes a charter with a newly built district to his name (he's currently 27). Maxismum, the district, is relatively thin in width, and would likely be located on the outer rim of the city. While KK didn't originally want to become charter, in these AUs he's pushed or motivated to aim higher, so that he can provide a happy space for his friends and for Vinyl City. He takes this in two different ways, explained under the read-more!

(Foreword: these ideas are a wip, so the designs of the costumes and districts might change later on)

DJ F.Light

Route A is the Normal Route. Here, KK keeps his old stage name, DJ Dragonflyte, and just shortens it into an alias sometimes (the exact reason why is still pending, maybe as a way to get around without his reputation preceding him). KK continues with his philosophy of living the PLUR life (rave acronym for peace-love-unity-respect) and utilizes his status + district as a means of bringing attention to smaller and/or up-and-coming artists! It's sort of why his outfit is less flashy and looking like an ordinary event organizer, with some design inspirations coming from the look of aircraft marshallers.

Maxismum A:

This Maxismum has a topside and an underside, with the former being split up in quarters by cardinal direction.

The east and west quarters are long sections of bright neon roofed mall space, called Holiday Row East and West, respectively. They primarily function as a space where people can acquire 1) party paraphernalia (think Party City vibes) and 2) reasonably priced materials that can help someone kick off their own music career! So like instruments, costumes, sound equipment, etc, etc. The items are sort of generic though, since the inventory has to cater to a wide variety of people, so he encourages folks that do more specialized work, like costume and set designers, to advertise their wares at Holiday Row :]

The north quarter connects to an airport! Maxismum and Holiday Row also act as sort of touristy place, to be the first impression of Vinyl City (the airport + air tram access is also because it fits with his theme- he thought it would be cool). (i might not keep this idea)

The south quarter is residential, and while the apartments are well maintained, they're a bit tight on space and see a lot of foot traffic outside.

The underside is specifically used for performances, plural. It works similarly to underground warehouse raves back in the day, where there are separate "rooms" (buildings, at this size) that musicians can rent out for performance venues, and he'll accept any and all genres to take a crack at a real stage. The atmosphere of this layer is always generally dim, with streetlamps and blacklight fixtures and neon lights that decorate the area and lead people to places with 'ascension' motifs (airplanes, rockets, rising stars...you know, for Rising Stars).

DJ F.Light's venue, called the Blacklight Runway (a slight nod to a track by the same name from Dirty Androids), is the largest one there, and when he holds a concert, he never does it alone. He always invites other DJs or artists of similar genres to perform with him, where they cycle out the person playing after a certain amount of time. Each DJ is credited when it's their turn to play, and F.Light is always the last one to go. Anyone unfamiliar with his concerts might be surprised to see that...he was both the ticket guy at the door and the guy in the crowd that was *really* going ham with the cheering during everyone else's performances.

== ==

DJ Apotheotic

Route B is the "Bad" Route. This KK lets his nerves get to him and takes on the theme of the Sophisticated Techno Night Club. He transitions out of his old Dragonflyte theme completely and feeds into the idea that he *has* to look and act more "professional" in order to be taken seriously. Initially, that was in the spirit of benefiting Vinyl City, but he soon got lost with his vision and aimed for power and popularity instead, becoming dead set on being the Best.

Maxismum B:

Instead of "Party City Music Mall", the district looks much more like a futuristic minimalist, with architecture consisting of high rise polyhedral towers plated with sleek, black chrome and neon strips. (Think Tron: Legacy, for those that have seen the movie).

Instead of topside being split into quarters, there are just two halves: the business and residential districts.

Maxismum's offices are chic but practical, with a primary focus on digital equipment, like monitor screens, sound programs, and even gaming hardware. While not as artistically fancy as Dream Fever, there's definitely an energy of trying to be like 'what is sold or served here is of high quality, furnished with the latest upgrades and reputably sourced, and deserving of respect'.

The residential district is like...brutalism's chrome and neon cousin. Though the apartments are a little pricey, but they're close to air tram stations that connect to other parts of the city, and the living conditions and spaces are great, as long as you're okay with moving into a. block. It's all in the name of efficiency.

(The district sounds a bit bleak but it does have something of an active nightlife, with entertainment in darkness-themed establishments like arcades, laser tag, and bowling alleys. he hasn't completely gotten rid of his roots ey).

What stands out the most in the district is his venue, called...I'm less solid on this name (pun intended), but it's something along the lines of The Perfect Prism. It's a large building built on tall supports with an outer facade that changes its shape into different simple polyhedrons, like pyramid, cube, diamond. Sometimes a sphere. His concerts are the *only* official concerts allowed to happen in his district, and he runs his shows like he's the hottest thing in the city. I almost hesitate to say he's like a priest at his turntable pulpit because he's not...giving sermons or holding some kind of 'music Mass', but in the those calm breaks in the music when the DJ talks, he's definitely saying stuff like "my music will save your fucking soul (metaphorical)". And he doesn't just have his finger on the pulse of the party, his music *is* the pulse of the party, and he's "gonna deliver you from your troubles with a lotta noise, baby".

#bread art #art #oc art #nsr #nsr oc #no straight roads #KK #once again kinda proud of being able to knock out environments a little faster these days #doing the interior of Holiday Row and the exterior of Maxismum B took like 30 mins tops?#the writing took much more work to organize- welcome to the first of the text walls on this blog KJFDLASKF #i also- dont know why these images are so massive apologies #Charter AU

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alchemisoul · 2 months

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"People in the 90s, and people still today to some degree, although, in the 90s, it was more obvious were like, oh, we're building the World Soul as we all get network together. We'll see that we're all one and we'll have no choice, but to overcome our enmity and sort of become a global, a planetary civilization, which was a big Motif in New Age thinking - this sort of planetary Consciousness.

Um, and cool, groovy, you know. Like, "Uh, you know, we're all one", right? But, actually, The Global Village is a paranoid place. That was the thing that Marshall McCluhan talked about in the 60s. He said, yeah, we're moving towards a global village and people tended to think he meant sort of, you know, like in a kind of a Walt Disney way like, oh, it's a little village, and we're all happy and together.

No, no, that's not what he meant at all. He meant it was going to be a place where everyone was aware of everybody else's business. There's a lot of backbiting, envy, social tension. You know, so it's a mix - it's a deeply mixed bag.

And I was able to articulate in a way both the Utopian and, if you will, the Demonic side of this kind of global technology. But a more, I think a better figure rather than thinking of the sort of angel-demon tension is, the thing about technology, in particular, if it has a mythological identity - it's the trickster and the tricksters bring gifts. And they bring pranks.

They can be devilish, they can be celebratory and erotic. They can open the gates to the other dimensions, and they can fool you. So all of those kind of qualities from a mythological level, I think that's at play inside our technology and that this just hasn't changed since, you know, 25 years ago when I was writing Techgnosis - it manifests in different ways. There are different. balances."

- Erik Davis in an Interview on New Thinking Allowed with Jeffery Mishlove

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yaggy031910 · 1 year

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It‘s Davout time!

Happy 253th birthday, dear iron marshal! ☺️🇫🇷🥖✨

Louis-Nicolas Davout is known for the devotion and love he had for his wife, Aimée Davout (born Louise-Aimée-Julie Leclerc), so I was interested about their correspondence. To cut a long story short, I started reading their letters (specifically the ones around the Russian campaign because I also wondered how Davout had dealt with this mess of a campaign).

Let‘s say it was simply heartwarming and I was melting away most of the time so how about I share one of my favourite little moments? Shall we? :D Davout‘s desire to have a second son and how he throws all of it away as long as Aimée‘s health is fine:

Ce 12 décembre Je profite, ma chère Aimée, de l‘estafette pour te rassurer sur la santé de ton Louis; elle est, malgré la rigueur de la saison, très bonne. Tu trouveras mon écriture tremblée. Je te jure par toi que la seule raison en est au froid qu‘il faut, et que je sens d‘autant plus que je t‘écris en plein air pour ne pas masquer cette estafette. Desessart part demain pour Paris, il va bien. Beaupré, malgré son âge, s‘en tire assez bien. Beaumont et les deux Fayet ne sont que fatigués. J‘envoie mille baisers à mon excellente Aimée, qui est peut-être, - à l‘heure où je lui écris, - dans les douleurs: puisse mon Aimée me donner un second fils! Cependant, si c‘est und filled, elle sera bien accueillie. J‘envoie mille caresses à l‘enfant chéri qui es Louis et à nos deux petites. Assure ta bonne mère de ma tendresse. Tout à toi. L.

German translation: Der 12. Dezember Ich profitiere, meine liebe Aimée, von dem Kurier, um dich über die Gesundheit deines Louis zu beruhigen; sie ist trotz der Strenge der Jahreszeit sehr gut. Du wirst meine Handschrift zitternd finden. Ich schwöre dir, dass der einzige Grund dafür die Kälte ist und ich fühle mich dementsprechend mehr dazu, dir im Freien zu schreiben, um den Kurier nicht zu verpassen. Desessart bricht morgen auf für Paris, ihm geht es gut. Beaupré hält sich trotz seines Alters gut. Beaumont und die zwei/beiden Fayets sind nur müde. Ich schicke 1000 Küsse an meine exzellente Aimée, die vielleicht in der Stunde, wo ich ihr schreibe, in Schmerzen ist: Möge meine Aimée mir einen zweiten Sohn geben! Jedoch, wenn es ein Mädchen ist, wird sie auch willkommen sein. Ich schicke 1000 Streicheleinheiten an die lieben Kinder, die Louis und unsere zwei Kleinen sind. Versichere deine Mutter meiner innigen Liebe. Alles an dich. L.

English translation: The 12th of December I benefit, my dear Aimée, from the courier/messenger to reassure you about the health of your Louis; she is very good despite the harshness of the season. You will find my handwriting shaking. I swear to you the only reason for that is the cold and I feel more like writing in the fresh air to not miss out the courier/messenger. Desessart leaves for Paris tomorrow, he is fine. Beaupré, despite his age, is going well. Beaumont and both Fayets are just tired. I send a thousand kisses to my excellent Aimée, who is perhaps in pain in the hour I write her: May my Aimée give me a second son! However, if it’s a girl, she is going to be welcomed. I send a thousand caresses to the dear children, who are Louis and our two little ones. Assure your mother about my tenderness. All for you. L.

Just like Napoleon, Davout had a desire to sire sons and - as far as I am concerned - it‘s clear that his enthusiasm for the possibility of having another son is strong. We might say it’s even stronger than for the possibility of having another daughter although he wrote that a daughter would be welcomed. Now, let’s read the next letter he wrote to his wife where he threw all of that away, shall we? :D

Gumbinnen, ce 17 décembre Je suis bien tourmenté, ma chère Aimée, du long silence auquel les ciconstances m’ont forcé et de toutes les inquiétudes qu’il t’aura données, à toi si ingénieuse à te tourmenter sans motifs. L’état où tu te trouvais, à la veille de faire tes couches, ajoute à mes tourments: jamais je n’ai plus éprouvé le besoin de recevoir de tes nouvelles, et j’ignore quand j’aurai ce bonheur, malgré les estafettes qui arrivent régulièrement; mais le comte Daru, sous le couvert de qui tes lettres me parvenaient, étant parti pour Koenisgsberg, me prive absolument de tes nouvelles. […] Ta santé, dans ce moment, est tout ce qui occasionne mes inquiétudes; lorsque je serai rassuré sur ce point, je désirerai connaître de tes couches: fille ou garçon, l’enfant sera le bienvenu si la santé de mon Aimée est telle que je la souhaite. […]

German translation: Gumbinnen, der 17. Dezember Ich bin sehr gequält, meine liebe Aimée, von dem langen Schweigen, zu dem mich die Umstände gezwungen haben und von den ganzen Sorgen, die es dir bereitet hat, so geistreich von dir, dich ohne Anlass so zu quälen. Der Zustand, in dem du dich am Vorabend mit der Geburt befandest, fügt mir Plagen zu: Nie habe ich mehr den Bedarf verspürt, deine Neuigkeiten zu erhalten und ich weiss nicht, wann ich diese Freude haben werde, trotz der Kurier, die regelmässig eintreffen; aber der Graf Daru, unter dessen Deckmantel deine Briefe mich erreichten, hat mich, nach Königsberg aufbrechend, von deinen Neuigkeiten beraubt. […] Deine Gesundheit ist in dem Moment alles, was mir Sorgen bereitet; wenn ich darüber beruhigt bin, wünsche ich mir, über das Wochenbett zu erfahren: Mädchen oder Junge, das Kind wird willkommen sein, wenn die Gesundheit von meiner Aimée so ist, wie ich es wünsche. […]

English translation: Gumbinnen, the 17th of December I am quite troubled, my dear Aimée, of the long silence to which my circumstances forced me to and of all the worries it caused you, so ingenious of you, to torment yourself without reason. The state you were in on the eve with the birth caused me torment: Never have I felt more the desire to receive your news and I don‘t know when I am going to have the happiness despite the couriers who regularly arrive; but the count Daru, under whose cover your letters came to me, having left for Koenisgsberg, deprives me absolutely of your news. […] In the moment, your health is everything what causes me concern; when I am reassured, I desire to find out about your postpartum period: girl or boy, the child will be welcomed if the health of my Aimée is how I wish. […]

MY HEAAAAART, GAHWD, THEY ARE ADORABLE.

#Louis Nicolas Davout #Aimée Leclerc #Aimée Davout #look at Davout being a nice and thoughtful hubby #Davout talked in another letter about him preferring his wife over his children lol #btw this is baby Jules‘ birth they are talking about and I am scared of getting to the letters where this baby dies #Like really really scared #Translating into German and then into English was a fun exercise #It took hours but still #HAPPY BIRTHDAY!#napoleonic era #How do y‘all post so often so long posts??? You are beasts! :D

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latenightcinephile · 3 months

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Film #914: 'La La Land', dir. Damien Chazelle, 2016.

I really like old-school Hollywood musicals, and I've always been sad that it's a genre that has gotten harder and harder to find in modern Hollywood. Most of the genre has since been supplanted by Disney films and either low-budget works or jukebox musicals, produced because there is a ready audience for the songs. While there has been a shift towards film adaptations of Broadway hits in the last decade or so (Les Miserables (Tom Hooper, 2012), Into the Woods (Rob Marshall, 2014), Cats (Tom Hooper, 2019)), it's a poor sign of the genre's health that there are no longer any major actors renowned for their consistent career in musicals - no Astaires or Crosbys or Garlands. So imagine my glee on hearing that a new, original musical was being made! One that hearkened back to the Hollywood spectaculars of the 1940s and 1950s! La La Land! The promotional photos looked reminiscent of the soundstage musicals that I had fallen in love with! At long last, it was time!

So, I didn't watch it for seven years. I don't know exactly why I didn't - a combination of having a lot going on in my life that stopped me getting to theatres, and then an internal rebellion against the amount of praise the film was receiving. It certainly wasn't helped by the Oscars debacle - there's nothing that diminishes a film's prestige quite like conspicuously not winning the Best Picture award. Finally, this year, I sat down to watch it, hoping I would be wrong, and that the shine would still be there - that I would be transported.

La La Land is not bad. It's also not transcendental.

Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) and Seb Wilder (Ryan Gosling) have both moved to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams. Mia wants to be an actress, but has found work in a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers studio lot. Seb hopes to revitalise jazz music in Los Angeles by refurbishing a famed jazz club. Mia encounters Seb by chance, and loves his music, but their first few interactions are filled with hostility - road rage, a thwarted introduction at the moment Seb is fired (in a cameo by J. K. Simmons, who also starred in Chazelle's Whiplash in 2014), and a terrible Hollywood pool party. Finally warming to each other, the two begin dating and encouraging each other to pursue their dreams in whatever way possible - Mia by performing a one-woman show, and Seb joining a jazz-pop band fronted by Keith (John Legend). Just before Mia's show opens, Seb returns from touring, and the two argue bitterly over their future and how to reconcile their two careers, ending with Seb spitting vitriol about how Mia cannot stand his success. The two break up, and Mia returns to her childhood home.

Shortly after this, Seb receives a message for Mia, inviting her to a casting call. He goes to retrieve her, and her audition is a success. The two talk about how, while their lives are not compatible, they'll always love each other. Five years later, Mia is a successful actress and Seb has opened his club. They once again meet by chance and, after considering what their life together could have been, they each go their separate ways once more.

You might notice that, in this description, I haven't paid much attention to the songs or music in this musical. That's because, in all honesty, not very much of it was memorable to me. The opening number 'Another Day of Sun', and 'City of Stars', the song that gets used as a motif throughout, remain catchy, but they're the only tracks that left a mark. That's a real shame, because they're not really the turning points of the film. And while Gosling and Stone show that they're relatively accomplished as singers and dancers in this film, it's also clear that they're not accustomed to doing this kind of work regularly. 'A Lovely Night' is a prime example of this - it's a couple's dance number, and the choreography is not exactly simple, but Stone and Gosling look like they've learned the dance in isolation from each other. This is a number where the easy chemistry that the two of them have temporarily gets put on hold so that they can focus on the steps.

And I'm aware that this is an incredibly pedantic thing to gripe about. I don't mean to damn with faint praise - these actors are doing something difficult, and doing it well. What really gets me is that, when you're making a musical, you have all sorts of tricks to cover over these brief weaknesses, and La La Land often doesn't use them. The score feels oddly quiet, even in its more bombastic numbers. 'Another Day of Sun' starts things off, but the opening vocalist sings, rather than belting, and by making the score supposedly diegetic to start, there's not enough there to support her. I know I ended my last write-up by expressing gratitude that films were now available to watch outside the cinema, but this is an instance where I wish that I'd seen this years ago. I just couldn't turn my speakers up far enough to get lost in the spectacle.

Talking to people about this film, there seems to be an even split on this matter: either you can lose yourself in what's going on, or you can't, and if you're in the latter camp, the musical side of La La Land is too banal. It's colourful and pretty - filmed gorgeously by Linus Sandgren - but I'm reminded of the maxim of musicals, attributed to Rob Marshall: "When movement isn't enough, you dance, or when speaking isn't enough, you sing." A few people I've asked about the film raised similar ideas - that it feels like Chazelle is trying to force an exuberance from his audience when there's not enough genuine emotion to support it.

This is what makes the second half of the film better for me, and this is where I found myself able to embrace the film more. The latter half of Mia and Seb's relationship, once they've actually fallen in love properly, is powerfully-acted, and the reprise of 'City of Stars' is beautiful. The break-up scene is absolutely stellar, and either Gosling and Stone could justifiably call this one of the best scenes of their career. In a musical, though, this height of emotion would normally call for a song or a dance, and there isn't one here. The emotional height that does get a song is Mia's audition, where she sings 'The Fools Who Dream' in what appears to be a single take. This is an excellent performance, and it alone could have been responsible for Stone winning the Best Actress Oscar that year. Then, of course, once Mia and Seb have briefly reunited, they share a fantasy sequence that is filled with a longing that's deeply affecting.

The thing that upsets me most about the film is that once you've started dissecting it, you see how underwritten parts of it are. The opening leaves its characters adrift, trying to sell you on optimism and exuberance that don't have enough of a foundation - no matter how many BMX stunt riders and parkour experts 'Another Day of Sun' crams in, it feels thin - and even the break-up scene is mostly successful because Stone and Gosling have easy chemistry and the ability to sell you on ideas by injecting them with emotion. That doesn't prevent the central conflict from seeming like a contrivance.

Seb is, admittedly, insufferable at times (I'm not going to get into whether he's a white saviour of jazz, because plenty of people have made arguments on both sides of that topic and I could easily agree with either camp). I think his biggest flaw is that he's unable to articulate his motivations, which makes the conflict a bit of an idiot-ball plot. Faced with having to explain why he's 'sold out' by joining Keith's group rather than following his passion for pure jazz, he can't do it and immediately belittles Mia. It feels like it would be easy to explain that someone could find satisfaction in playing two different subgenres of jazz, and even playing them off each other to push the boundaries of music further. That feels like something Seb would genuinely believe in (and something that Chazelle, being a musician, would also be familiar with). It would also open up opportunities for more complicated conflicts - a jazz battle! A tortured artist number! - without affecting the overall plot. I just don't think the film has the expansiveness to tackle it.

Yeah, this sounds like I'm trying to assassinate the film. I liked it, honestly. I was still humming 'City of Stars' a week later, and it made me like Stone and Gosling more as actors, which I hardly thought possible. All the breathless excitement, though, about the film resurrecting a genre, and changing the course of film history... it was overblown, without a doubt. La La Land proved that these films could still be made, and very successfully. The fact that so many modern musicals are either adaptations of things proven to work, or jukebox musicals where the plot is largely incidental, shows that crafting a fully successful musical is not just about the songs but about the plot that links them. La La Land does it better than most, but it's not what I was craving it to be.

#1001 movies #musicals #damien chazelle #la la land

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yetihideout · 5 days

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Favorite Albums

Music Composed And Performed By Goblin: Their Rare Tracks & Outtakes Collection, 1975-1989, Goblin

My favorite compilation from Goblin, the prog rock, synthesizer masters who became famous thanks to their contributions to the soundtracks for Dario Argento’s Deep Red and Suspiria as well as George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Often super-charged and kinetic, but also possessing the ability to be slow, atmospheric and moody, this group epitomizes the nature and energy of horror: from the otherworldly and terrifying soundscapes of Suspiria to the beautiful, thoughtful love theme from the obscure St. Helens (not a horror film, but dramatic nonetheless.)

Goblin is, without argument, one of the most influential artists to the world of horror music – no doubt influencing John Carpenter’s simple piano-driven theme to Halloween (listen to Goblin’s title track from Deep Red and compare) to the current crop of synthesized themes in films and series like Turbo Kid, It Follows, Drive, Stranger Things and many others.

These are all babies born of Goblin!

Silk & Soul, Nina Simone

My favorite album by my favorite vocalist for reasons that are inexplicable to me. This is the album that I play most often – perhaps it’s the odd variety of songs chosen (although all of the material in the Simone archives are from an astonishing range of disparate and unique sources). Historians would consider “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” to be the signature song from this album, but I find her brief tale of simple, matter-of-fact racism explained in “The Turning Point” to be much more devastating, perhaps since it’s told from the point of view of a child.

All of the songs are wrenching and even her revisions of Burt Bacharach’s “Look of Love” and The Association’s “Cherish” are re-ignited with a more appropriate longing and yearning that only Simone can express.

Creepshow, John Harrison

My favorite horror soundtrack of all time. There is something about the opening piano theme that appealed to me even when I first saw ads for the film on HBO as a child (I was much too scared to watch the entire film, but I would torture myself by at least watching the opening credits). The child-like piano tune with the taunting children voices was spooky, fun and surprisingly catchy. This album was a sort of Holy Grail of mine growing up and I would often watch the film just to hear the music. It wasn't until many years later that I was finally able to get a copy of the record. Each story in the film is brought to life by a signature sound – from the Gothic, piano-pounding revenge motif of “Father’s Day”, the melodic and secretive tone of “The Crate” to the minimal synth soundscape that perfectly applied to E.G. Marshall’s roach phobia and germ-free apartment from the “They’re Creeping Up on You” segment.

Each and every note is deliberate, brilliant and visual.

Bone Machine, Tom Waits

My favorite Waits album, probably for the simple reason that each song is like a tiny, separate horror tale embodied with an extremely visual style and brought to life by Waits’ rough, often inhuman voice. Each song is painted in charcoal black and tell stories about the hopelessness of...well...everything. “The Earth Died Screaming” is perhaps the most famous track from this album, but my personal favorite is the slow and mysterious “Black Wings” – a familiar tale of a neutral angel (or demon?) and his exploits, both good and bad. “Murder in the Red Barn” is an equally intriguing tale that one can easily visualize and it's peppered with ambiguous lyrics like, “there’s nothing strange about an axe with bloodstains in the barn - there's always some killin' you got to do around the farm.”

I like to look at Bone Machine as a sort of audio short story collection of tales that Roald Dahl, Richard Matheson or Robert Bloch might have conjured up.

Thighs and Whispers, Bette Midler

A rare album that I actually listen to all the way through. This 1979 album has a diverse range of songs, including a great version of “Millworker” from the Broadway play, “Working”, and some cute disco-fueled tunes like “Married Men” and “My Knight in Black Leather”. Each song has some moment that gives me shivers, or at least slight goose bumps. One of those moments is in the song, “Big Noise from Winnetka” when they sing the line, “Once she was picking up the big boys…now I’m pickin’ up my little kids’ toys”.

The whole album makes me feel really good with all of its emotional ups and downs...which, afterall, is basically what makes a perfect album. Right?

Cow Fingers & Mosquito Pie, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

My favorite compilation of songs from the incredibly insane catalog of Hawkins. All of the favorites are here – “Alligator Wine”, “Hong Kong”, “Little Demon”, “There’s Something Wrong with You” and, of course, his most famous track – “I Put a Spell On You”. Every song is unleashed in his inimitable way, through screaming, shouting and lip-smacking gibberish. His work makes me scream with laughter. I find that listening to his albums is the perfect remedy to road rage…just “singing” along with Jay is incredibly cathartic and relaxing! Take him along with you on your next commute.

Who knew that spouting out silly words and making fart noises would become such a huge part of someone’s career? I’m totally in the wrong profession.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Eurythmics

Definitely the first official “album” I ever owned. Like most people of my generation, Annie Lennox mesmerized me in the music video for “Sweet Dreams” (which aired on MTV practically every few minutes). I was equally fascinated, terrified and hopelessly drawn to the pounding computerized beat, the throwback classical strings and Annie’s low, monotone delivery contrasting with her higher-pitched, "choir of angels"-type refrains. And who could forget her bizarre appearance? This is the perfect example of the power of the early 1980s music video: The song and accompanying video compelled me to purchase the entire album. I loved every single song on it – a rarity that I have not often found with other albums.

With the eerie “Love is a Stranger” and the hypnotic “Jennifer” to the ethereal, jungle beat of “I’ve Got an Angel” and the fun and goofy “Wrap it Up”, I had unknowingly set the stage for my musical tastes.  

Hooked on Classics, Louis Clark conducting The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

This was an album I remember being in love with as a young boy when I would play the cassette tape of it over and over again. It was a great entry point for classical music. The often goofy, pseudo-disco element that was added to the medleys of famous classical music provided a fun and punchy rhythm to the proceedings that was perfect for a child. I found a copy of the CD recently and discovered that the album is still a fun listen. The quick, “clapping hands” backbeat now reads very silly and one can envision the album being played during low-impact cardio exercises at a YMCA.

Though this album (as well as its sequels and spin-offs) has its vehement detractors, the album has a sweet innocence to it. It’s merely trying to make classical music a bit more accessible while not taking itself too seriously.

The Haunted Mansion, Disneyland Records

Though not officially an album by any means, this was a record I played quite often as a child. Accompanied by a terrific illustrated book that detailed the exploration of the famous Haunted Mansion of the Disneyland world, your narrator leads you through the famous scenarios from the ride. Though only running approximately five minutes or so, the adventure leaves your brain with indelible memories, probably the most startling being the bride with the visible, beating heart.

The B-side is what I remember the most from this album – a simple collection of sound effects, from moaning ghosts to the absolutely terrifying and intense sequence of a pack of dogs barking in the distance and getting louder...and ever so closer…

#Goblin #Nina Simone #Bette Midler #Eurythmics #Creepshow #John Harrison #The Haunted Mansion #Disney #Tom Waits #albums #Hooked on Classics #screamin jay hawkins

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phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing · 1 year

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So given the Cloud Knights' hunting of undead immortals, Hua's twist is almost certainly going to be that she's immortal in this world too right? Also I found it pretty interesting that of the 7 generals, she, as the Marshal, doesn't have her own ship

As a Marshal she’s definitely immortal. I mean she had to last long enough to be one.

Re:ships, yeah, I wonder where she lives. Maybe she rotates? Or she just happens to live on one of the ships that has a general?

Alternatively maybe she’s just a chicken farmer by now. Xianzhou is full of bird motifs.

#asks #hsr #honkai star rail

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thoughtfulfangirling · 7 months

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October/Autumn Books

Over the years, I've been trying to collect books good for reading around this time of year. I thought I'd make a masterlist of sorts. There will be categories, and books may be in several of them.

Each of these books I feel have something to offer in terms only that they fit what I feel is readings for the season within their vibes. Any YA books will be explicitly marked as such. Additionally, my actual opinion of the books will be marked with 1 through 5 asterisks (stars), and because I hate rating books, I'm going to preface by saying I'm being very loosey goosey with them XD

Autumn Vibes (weather)

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black *****

YA. Vampires exist, and the world knows about it. The world is dealing with it as best they can. Barriers between overnight workers and the public, habits to close all windows every night, avoid evening events, and the conversion of large towns into prisons for vampires and those who wish to become them. Within this world, Tana is just trying to have a normal teen's life, but that all changes when a drunken night at a friends and a forgotten open window results in her waking up seemingly the only survivor of a vampire attack. That's enough for a teenager to have to deal with, but as it turns out, not all the vampires are gone. (The audiobook for this one is exceptionally creepy and good.)

Doll Bones by Holly Black *****

Contemporary. YA. Kids try to keep the magic of youth alive by going on an adventure (running away) to a doll they want to believe is haunted to her grave site in early-ish autumn.

The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire *****

Sometimes, living is the true thing of nightmares. Such is the case for the hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall. She's hitched the ghost roads for decades longer than she's been alive and content with her undead existence despite being haunted still by the man who killed her, demon-pact and all. When he curses her, she finds that only by living again can she remove the curse. It was only supposed to last one evening, the only evening the dead can return to flesh: Halloween night. (This is a book 2)

In the Woods by Tana French ****

In his childhood, Adam Ryan was out with his friends when those friends went missing. It became a huge story, especially because when they found him, he was so traumatized, he had no memory of what took place. They never solved his mystery, but he became an investigator himself. He thought that was all behind him, except he is put on a case that has a mysterious link to that cold mystery. Ryan shouldn't be working this case, but no one has linked him to it yet, and he can't help but try and see if this new case will reveal anything about his own.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo ***

Alex Stern is in the fall Semester at a college that deals in magic. Normally, an outsider like her wouldn't have been recruited to help keep order among the magic houses that operate out of the college, but there's something special about Alex: She can see ghosts, a rare gift. At least that's how she's seen. To Alex, it can be more of a curse. One she will have to use though if she is going to find the mentor who mysteriously disappeared earlier that semester under supernatural circumstances.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth *****

Half historical, half contemporary. Chunks of the book occur during autumn months and lovely descriptions of the weather and orchards, and a repeating motif of apples.

The November Girl by Lydia Kang ****

YA. Hector is a runaway, and he has planned his time hidden away until his 18th birthday perfectly to escape being in his uncle's custody any longer. On the last day a tourist island on Lake Superior is open, just before the November storms are expected to come and batter the island, he boards the fairy there and remains in secret. The island is expected to be abandoned and dangerous. It does prove to be dangerous, but what it doesn't prove to be, is abandoned. There is a strange girl also still left upon the island, and the creeping cold and raging storms only seem to give her power. She doesn't seem fully human.

Tithe by Holly Black ****

YA. Halloween approaches, and Kaye finds that her world may just be more preternatural than she expected as suddenly she is encountering fairies. Her encounter does more than open her eyes to a new world, it seems to be changing her too, and the stakes will reach a peak Halloween night.

Horror Vibes

Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink *****

When her wife goes missing and doesn't reappear, one woman gives up the life she knows to become a trucker. On the road, she expects to find herself... or her wife. What she finds are mystery and horror instead.

Dracula by Bram Stoker *****

Does anyone actually even need a summary? Look, if you like to read books for Halloween and haven't read this one, just do it. You're on Tumblr; make sure you know what all the Dracula Daily posts are going on about. They're excellent.

The Exorcist by William Blatty ****

What is more horrific than watching a beloved child deteriorate into self harm and bad health and getting no answers, having to trust to faith instead of anything you've trusted before. Or how about a believer faced with evil powers one never expected to truly come face to face with?

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid ***

The witch daughter of a cruel wizard is persuaded by her two elder sisters to sneak out of their carefully controlled home to see a ballet. For her, this is out of character to disobey her father, but she finds the show changes everything. She is enraptured by the performance, and more specifically, the lead, who she chances upon meeting while going out to get some air. For once, she has found something worth coming out of her shell for, but should she have left home when there are dark rumors of a man-eating monster stalking the night and the tentative tranquility of their home, and their voracious father, is as risk? Contains explicit sexual content.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo ***

The Girl with All the Gifts *****

I was so hooked starting this book with zero information about it other than it was a good spooky read, and since it was such an experience, I simply cannot get myself to say much about this. It follows a special child student, her teacher, and the head of the locked down school's security team as they navigate a dystopian world behind walls, and attempts to reach the outside world have proven unsuccessful so far.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones ****

Most people experience the past coming back to haunt them in some way, shape, or form. But three men who grew up on a reservation feel like they are being haunted by more than the memories of the past. They don't talk about the incident much, not since they were banned from that part of the reservation, but they feel like perhaps they should as they find themselves fighting for their lives against the ramifications of that day.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth *****

Half historical, half contemporary. A haunted swath of land, or a curse? The deaths may seem natural, but are they? And why do all these wasps keep showing up every which way?

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims ***

The apartment complex must be haunted. What else explains the series of horror visitations that happen upon 13 different residents who live in the building? Each storey is unlike the other. Almost a series of short stories, except... they do seem to be connected. Everything seems to point in the direction of the apartment's landowner as each resident receives an unexpected inviation to a dinner at his top floor penthouse in too timely a manner with the unexpected.

Under the Pendulum Sun *

Gothic Horror. What happens if the fairy are real and known of during the Victorian era? Well, we must preach to them of course! But it may just be that within the strange land of fairy a brother and sister find themselves in for their purpose of the gospel, the lords and ladies of fairy are more interested in the sins at the heart of the people than their hope for their souls. Very Victorian Gothic. The prose was gorgeous, and an atmosphere of eerie unease was well painted; however, beyond the stunning prose, I did not find the stories or the characters' choices all that compelling. The plot/character work wasn't for me, but if one is in the mood for eerie, haunting prose, then this would be the perfect read.

A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons ****

Separated from his wife and broken up with by his lover, a professor returns to his home town in the Midwest in late November where the snow has already accumulated. He finds himself lingering over the death of a childhood friend and haunted by his past. Isolated in a small town with wanna be skinheads probably isn't the best time to suddenly feel like shadows are moving in, and he feels like the target.

Eerie Vibes (Horror Light)

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu *****

Only a novella in length, Carmilla is a fascinating read. Follow a lonely girl outside of her country of origin come to have a visitor, Carmilla, stay at her estate under mysterious circumstances. She quickly finds herself enamored with Carmilla and quickly grows ill with her worry over unhappy events which seem to plague Carmilla overnight. Despite them however, Carmilla seems just as robust as ever despite her habit to sleep away the mornings. This book predates Dracula, and it strikes me that it lent much of its lore to Stoker's later novel.

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black *****

Doll Bones by Holly Black *****

Contemporary. YA. A child's parent keeps an eerie doll locked up in a cabinet, and the children's playtime has turned her into a queen of sorts. Then suddenly one of the children has a dream; a girl was murdered and her ashes placed in the doll. Her soul is restless and wants to be laid to rest in her grave, and the kids — her subjects — must find it and take her to it.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould ****

YA. Why is it that the worst of humankind can flourish so proliferous in the most beautiful of places? The small town of Snake Bite is littered with shadows and mystery, and it seems to be targeting the town's teens. First, Ashley's long time boyfriend goes missing, and then newcomer and outcast Logan's new friendly acquaintance is found dead. The town might hate Logan, and Ashley might come from the most prominent family in the town, but the two girls can't help but investigate the odd happenings that disappeared Ashley's boyfriend and implicated one of Logan's dads in that disappearance. The town believes he killed him, Logan is determined to prove him innocent, and Ashley still believes he's alive. She can feel his presence still all around.

The Best of Edgar Allan Poe

I have never read an author that, in so little time of story, manages to dredge up so much feeling of dread. If you want to set a dark and dreary mood, Poe's your man. In today's age, I don't know that his stories come off nearly as spooky as they once did, but they certainly evoke a sort of low mood spooky stories often aim for. It's like the counter of a thriller which often evokes high, frantic energy instead of the low, desolate mood of Poe's work.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ****

For current readers, I don't know if this quite works as horror, but there is definitely something to the carelessness of men who create without considering their creations.

The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire *****

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire *****

Follow a hitchhiking ghost over the breadth of the continental US. She was run off the Sparrow Hill Road in 1952 on her way to prom and never made it there. Instead she haunts the highways of the US, hitchhiking her way from roadside diner to roadside diner. She finds a calling in spending time with someone before their last moments, fated to die on the road. Sometimes though, she gets to alter that fate. But there is one out there who has an unpleasant fate in mind for her, and he haunts the roads in his immortal demon car, determined to get the prey who escaped him in the early 1950s.

True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John Seymour & Harry Neligan***

Interested in 'true' ghost stories? Well find here collected stories Seymour and Neligan sought out from real people in Ireland who vouched to the veracity of their accounts. The stories are disjointed and with no real beginning or end, but read much like tales told around the campfire in the dark of night.

Dark Stories

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson ****

A letter from one vampire to her maker whom she has murdered. The story is their story, the one of living under a man she thought a savior, who turned her into a monster, and showed her an initial love that hid a vindictive, controlling menace amidst the monotonousness of his vampirism. Explicit sexual content.

The Girl with All the Gifts *****

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid ***

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair **

The princess and heir to a kingdom besieged by a vampire army finds herself preparing for her father's surrender to the Vampire King. An unexpected and unpleasant stipulation of the treaty of surrender is the princess's hand in marriage. For her people, she agrees, but her people expect her to assassinate her new husband despite his immortal durability. Fairytale elements. Intrusive thoughts. Contains smut.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo ***

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones ****

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims ***

Mystery

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould ****

In the Woods by Tana French ****

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin ****

Under the rule of King Henry II, within Cambridge, there is amongst the people a deranged serial killer targeting children. The people point the blame at the local Jewish population, but after a raid sequesters them within the castle walls and the killings don't stop, a woman of the station of what we might call today coroner is summoned from out of the country to learn from the dead children what she may to uncover the identity of a serial killer eager to target those who would try to track them down. Historical fiction. Some explicit sexual content.

Classic Halloween Elements

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black *****

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu *****

Dracula by Bram Stoker *****

The Best of Edgar Allan Poe

The Exorcist by William Blatty ****

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ****

What can have more than classic Halloween elements than a classic horror tale??

The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire *****

The Girl with All the Gifts *****

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson***

One of the classic horror books has to go among classic Halloween! You think you know this story, but if you haven't read it, you likely know less than you think! This is the perfect time of year to check out the original.

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire *****

Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims ***

True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John Seymour & Harry Neligan***

Nonfiction

Penguin Book of Hell by Scott Bruce **

Let's talk about hell. That's what this book is all about, from the ghostly afterlife of the Greeks to the hell we force on others. This follows in a pretty straight line from the Greek/Roman concepts thru the Christian concepts, to attitudes about endless punishment held today.

True Irish Ghost Stories by St. John Seymour & Harry Neligan***

The World of Lore Books by Aaron Mahnke ****

These contain the books Dreadful Places, Wicked Mortals, and Monstrous Creatures. I haven't actually read Wicked Mortals yet, but the other two were perfect for the season and am confident so too Wicked Mortals will be too. Follow Mahnke as he explores the history of these folk tales and spoopy histories! They also work as great audio listens.

It's October, so get ready to see this even more! I still have books I want to add to it that are pending, and more will be added as I read. But I'm always looking for more books to queue up for some spoopy time (and/OR Autumn reading), and when I find there's something I wish there was more of out in the world, I find it helps to put out into it what we'd like to see.

That is to say, please feel free to add to this! I will excitedly look forward to more spoopy recs.

#fall fun #but I always like to hear others' recs for reading this time of year #So it only made sense I try to do the same #tf reads #books #spooky reading #spoopy fun times #la de da #don't mind meeee #silly tf #long post #gifs

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