I THINK I'LL TRYYYYYY DEFYIIIIING GRAVITYYYYYYYY 🙏

my favorite background moments in falsettos (2017)

this is purely because i am insane. it's a very long list. i might make a similar post for the bootleg of the original broadway cast because they are also very dear to me. anyway, list is below the line!

3:50 ("four jews in a room") during the last chorus, whizzer + mendel starting spinning in a circle as opposed to dancing normally

3:54 ("four jews in a room") trina accepts a piece of the block from marvin and grabs at the back of his head, seemingly picking something out of his hair and tossing it to the ground

17:16 ("marvin @ the physiatrist") following whizzer's "part two", marvin looks over at him and smiles (i can't tell if this is christian to andrew or if it's supposed to be in character)

21:55 ( "my father's a homo") as jason says "my mother's no wife" and "my father's no man, no man at all", both trina and marvin react to their relative assessment. trina stops for a moment and shoots jason a stern look, while marvin turns back at each repeat of 'no man' to stare desperately at him.

25:34 ("everyone tells jason to see a physiatrist") whizzer grins at jason encouragingly following his line "absolutely, jason"

43:16 ("a tight-knit family reprise") following mendel's line "it's embarrassing" marvin looks to whizzer and says "you're watching embarassing" (i'm like 90% sure on this one haha)

43:18 ("a tight-knit family reprise") as marvin's pushing jason away as he's on the cube, he says to him "i can't look at this jackass"

43:55 ("a tight-knit family reprise") after mendel and marvin arm wrestle, whizzer and jason exchange a look

49:50 ("trina's song reprise") trina reemerges having changed costumes, her outfit now including a beaded bracelet we see mendel wearing earlier on in the show

54:57 ("the chess game") as whizzer is yelling at marvin (and the audience) about marvin's absurd expectations, marvin says "come on" and "is that all you got?"

56:00 ("making a home") jason retreats to the background to set his chess board down as well as push in a looser block - not sure if this is just anthony fixing the set or if it's supposed to be in character. he then proceeds to watch trina + mendel setting up the couch before looking up/out to the audience as they do (with the lines "what it needs is people/men and women talking"). he does the same thing at 57:30 during the second chorus

56:23 ("making a home") whizzer is pulling out his clothes from inside one of the blocks, similar to how trina retrieves the couch throw pillows later on

57:08 ("making a home") the photographs they set on the mantlepiece appear to be historical family portraits; the one in the back is most likely trina as a child with her parents, and the one in front are mendel's parents (judging by the era of clothing)

1:03:40 (marvin hits trina") rather than use an instrument (like a clapper), whizzer uses his hands to make the slapping sound

1:05:22 ("i never wanted to love you") marvin and whizzer's eye contact lingers after whizzer's part. i'm curious what you all think christian's trying to express here - to me it looks like he's about to start crying before he turns away.

1:20:00 ("miracle of judaism") when the family erupts to tell jason the second ball is coming, marvin says something along the lines of "there's a...there's a what, what's happening - he's not looking". also, each character reacts in their own unique way. i love cordelia in particular because when jason looks over, she waves first before pointing to the ball

1:21:18 ("the baseball game") this is similar to the previous, i love focusing on what each character says.

cordelia: you're kinda choking up, buddy (motioning to the way jason holds his bat)

charlotte: next inning, jason, next inning

mendel: get your head in the game, think about the footwork a little bit

marvin: it's alright buddy, you'll get 'em next time

trina: you have eight more innings, my love!

1:22:40 ("the baseball game") cordelia + charlotte realize who whizzer is and are shocked, and then quickly try to appear nonchalant about it (1:22:50 you can see charlotte rest a hand on both cordelia and marvin's knees before all three adjust in their seats and separate)

1:23:16 (during "the baseball game") the lesbians nod encouragingly at marvin after whizzer asks "is he still queer?" (i absolutely LOVE this detail it's so cute lolol)

1:30:24 ("a day in falsettoland") cordelia reacts to charlotte's line "...lightbulbs up the ass" by dropping her smile + staring off into the distance in horror

1:30:33 ("a day in falsettoland") following charlotte's line "people overdosed and i saved them", cordelia nods at her + says "yeah, you did"

1:31:06 ("a day in falsettoland") charlotte laughs in shock when cordelia says "...and i save chicken fat"

1:35:25 ("everyone hates his parents") following trina's line "you have paintings of dicks/don't talk to me about taste", she + marvin have the following interaction:

marvin, smug: those are french

trina, exasperated: really?

1:43:15 ("something bad is happening") charlotte holds a copy of JAMA aka the "Journal of the American Medical Association". i'm unsure the larger magazine is

1:50:55 ("days like this") prior to the song beginning, whizzer says either "marvin" or "mornin'" to marvin

1:52:45 ("days like this") marvin turns and says something to whizzer (i can't figure it out and its KILLING ME) as mendel sings "go ahead, be good and pissed/how can i help, says the wiry pyschiatrist"

1:54:00 ("canceling the bar mitzvah") as jason gets up and walks downstage, trina nods in his direction - can't tell if this is her communicating with mendel or marvin, or perhaps both

2:01:30 ("unlikely lovers") following whizzer's line "i love friends that hover", charlotte reaches over and playfully pinches his shoulder

2:09:30 ("jason's bar mitzvah") while trina is singing "probably it's doubly useful/at a time like this", mendel says something akin to "you don't have one/you don't have some?", most likely to jason in regards to the champagne

2:09:38 ("jason's bar mitzvah") after saying cheers, marvin first looks to whizzer and then to jason - presumably because this is jason's first time drinking alcohol. my guess is that he says "good?", asking for jason's opinion on the champagne

2:09:50 ("jason's bar mitzvah") while whizzer sings "please excuse me if i interfere", mendel and marvin have a brief conversation about the cubicle curtain. it's fairly inaudible so i'm not sure of the exact wording

2:12:00 ("jason's bar mitzvah") as marvin is fixing jason's tie, he whispers to him "relax, relax". while the cast sings "like marvin", marvin continues speaking to jason by saying "is that so hard?"

feel free to reblog and add any i've missed! i tried to include those i discovered on my own/ones i haven't yet seen talked about

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 1A

Aptly named, there was never a more leggy woman than Paula Leggett Chase (1961). Self-titled "Antique Showgirl," Paula is a veteran chorusgirl with shows like A Chorus Line, Crazy for You, and Kiss Me, Kate. She has gained recent notoriety for her social media presence where she gleefully shows off her everlasting flexibility and unmatched dancing. How many dancers in their sixties can you name who can still tap dance en pointe? In fact, how many dancers at any age can you name who even know tap dancing en point is possible?

Though we know her mostly from her screen work, Patricia Clarkson (1959) is a Tony-nominated actress who has appeared sporadically on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in regional theatre. She has taken on iconic roles like Blanche duBois from A Streetcar Named Desire, and had a topless scene in The Elephant Man on Broadway in 2014. And no, in case you were wondering, the grainy bootleg does not show anything. I looked. Trust me. She will be appearing in the West End this month in Long Days Journey Into Night.

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT:

"I am on my hands and knees begging you to look through this woman's instagram. You will be delighted, appalled, and flabbergasted. Here's her tap dancing en-point in her sixties for funsies. Here's her doing cartwheels and splits. Here's her posting thirst traps, like what the fuck, Paula? God, I love this woman's chaotic energy."

"Her voice is like molasses on a hot summer day. Any woman brave enough to strip on Broadway in front of 136,696 people over the course of the show's entire run (yeah, I checked the attendance) is an icon and a legend. She's also a well-known tumblr reaction gif, so there's that. Her presence here as a certified Broadway Diva is a little precarious, but it's my poll and I do what I want."

Groundhog Day at the Old Vic, London 2023

*dusts off the old blog* It's certainly been a minute, hasn't it! Still here, still a huge GHD fan. In the intervening years, I got to see productions at San Francisco Playhouse and at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL. (I also got married and went through a bunch of other life stuff, but that's neither here nor there). But then it was announced that Groudhog Day would be returning to the Old Vic in 2023 with Andy Karl, and my husband and I used that as an excuse to finally do that UK trip we'd been talking about for years.

Tumblr user colemckenzies did a great post outlining some of the changes between Broadway and 2023 Old Vic. I wanted to further elaborate on some additional changes I noticed. Obviously spoilers to follow:

In “There Will Be Sun”, the first chorus of “Tomorrow spring will come and then there will be blue skies my friend” is cut. It goes straight from “If not tomorrow then tomorrow or tomorrow there will be sun” to “Oh if I could I’d will these clouds away my love”

While obviously the revolves are gone (look at me picking up British-isms 😄), the bedroom set gets wheeled in every loop. They keep the trick from Broadway where this is always done counter-clockwise until the loop finally breaks.

As previously mentioned, there’s a wonderful lyric change in Day One. “Their dumb superstitions and vacuous chat, their total unawareness of the fact their trapped, perhaps you don't miss it if you don't know you lack it, I'm sure there was a pack of xanax in this jacket'

I adore this because of the foreshadowing, and how Phil thinks he’s singing about the townsfolk when he’s really singing about himself.

Dialogue change in 2023 when Phil runs into Jonathan:

Jonathan: “Off to the see the groundhog?”

Phil: “Why, isn’t there a tractor pull or a cow-tipping contest?”

Jonathan, looks confused: “I don’t think that’s today.”

When Rita introduces  to Phil on Day One and reminds him of the flood story, Phil takes a second before recalling, groans, and goes, "Oh, the intern? They didn't even send me a real producer." After which Rita corrects him that she's a real producer now, albeit an associate producer. 

On Day 2 when the sheriff drops his gun, Phil asks "How do you have a permit???"

At the end of Day 2, Rita sings “I mean he acts kind of asshole-ish still. I think he might be mentally ill.” While it’s on the cast recording and the early previews bootleg, I could have sworn it was cut in the final Broadway version. Regardless, it’s restored in the 2023 version.

Phil’s “Help me~~~~” at the end of Day 3 is cut.

In Philandering, they cut the line where Phil "proposes" to Nancy (which I prefer - no one is that stupid, and they make the point later that Nancy is more than a caricature)

Also in Philandering, you can hear the chorus singing, “Gonna party like it’s no tomorrow~~~” in the party scene (formerly the orgy scene). Phil also gets 10 pizzas delivered to his room.

Phil is less aggressive when he confesses his “love” to Rita in One Day. 

On Broadway, they sit down directly on the stage, and Phil leans sideways to Rita to confess. As he gets more desperate, he starts to position himself over her and tries to take her hand, after which she slaps him.

In 2023, they’re sitting on a bench together. Phil tries to take her hand, and she pulls away and slaps him. Still creepy, but much less heading in the direction of sexual assault.

Either way Phil totally deserves to get slapped. I’ve talked to a few people who have said they could never root for Phil because of this scene (which is a fair critique). The 2023 version IMO makes the same point without so much portraying Phil as a potential sexual predator. 

Right before Phil smashes the alarm clock at the end of One Day, he yells “Make it stop!” (“Somebody make it stop”? Memory is a fickle thing)

When Phil kills himself with the gun before Hope, it's more explicit that he stole the gun off of the sheriff with his faulty holster.

I don't remember if this is new, but when Phil wakes up at the beginning of Hope, he touches the side of his head where he shot himself and even though he knows that the day will always reset, he still looks a little surprised and it's heartbreaking. 

For the third death/revival in Hope (where Phil climbs the ladder):

Broadway: Phil reappears in bed

Old Vic 2023: Phil reappears on the scene of the broadcast, fully dressed

As noted, lots of changes to If I Had My Time Again. 

Cast recording: "The thing with these revolving rides / they're only fun because you know they're going to end"

Broadway (as of early in previews): "I was completely dead inside / But today I'm like 85%"

London 2023: We're back to the cast recording lyrics.

IMO the orchestration and lyric changes are for the better. I adored this song on the cast recording, but in the August Wilson theater it frequently felt swallowed up.

With the emphasis on just Phil and Rita, it’s a much more intimate song, which is what the scene needs IMO.

I also love Rita’s new lyric “Go to all the parties that I missed / Kiss all the boys I was too afraid to kiss”, because then it’s Rita fulfilling her “time again” when she kisses Phil during Seeing You.

After "If I Had My Time Again", Phil eats a carton of Ben & Jerry's while discussing the almanac with Rita. I love the implication that he’s eaten all of this junk food before, but he’s trying it again with her.

Dialogue change after "If I Had My Time Again" 

Phil: "You know, Larry, we never really talk."

Broadway Larry: "Sometimes I think you don't notice that I'm there."

London 2023 Larry: "Well you never brought me donuts before."

Not a change, but I was sitting close enough one night to see the stock photos they use for Ned’s wallet pictures of his kids, and I realized that “little Mary” is just a baby. It really hit home that Ned has probably just lost his wife in the last year or two, and he’s trying to raise five very young kids on his own.

In the Broadway/cast recording versions of "Philanthropy", you can hear some melodic callbacks to earlier songs. In the London 2023 version, the chorus actually sings lines like, "I'm not sure what the point is / But this point is it don't matter" and "If I had my time again I would not do it all the same"

There's no pause of silence before "Seeing You" starts

After Phil and Rita run off into the snow at the end of Seeing You, the couples left dancing are Nancy/Larry, Debbie/Fred, and then Mrs. Lancaster dances alone in the snow in joyous wonder. I love this bit, becuase it feels like all the different ways you can find a new meaning of love (Nancy/Larry, the couple just discovering each other, Debbie/Fred, who have moved into a new phase of their relationship, and then Mrs. Lancaster, who even as an old woman can revel in the beauty of the snow)

In 2023 when Phil takes Rita to see the sunrise, he makes her cover her eyes, and then unveil them once the full sunrise is in view. It’s very sweet.

Anyway, I love this show, and I love talking about this show, so please feel free to hit me up! I may post more general thoughts, etc. if anyone is interested.

Lost Steely Dan Saturday

I've decided that I'm going to start a weekly thing where I post about various cut & obscure Steely Dan songs. My intention is mainly to post about an album's worth of outtakes, demos, and other oddities per installment. This list will be non-exhaustive, as the list of Steely Dan and Steely Dan adjacent outtakes is enormous. I'll be sharing links to what songs I can, and I'll be prioritizing unadulterated demos (though I will be recommending fan remasters when applicable.) Starting chronologically, we'll be looking at their first album, Can't Buy a Thrill, and a little bit of what came before it. Heads up, this will be a long post.

Dallas (Single)

This single is Steely Dan's first release, it and its b-side were only ever released officially on a 1978 japan only compilation

One of the first things you might notice with this one is that Donald Fagen is not singing lead vocals, instead being performed by drummer Jim Hodder. Hodder also performs lead vocals for "Midnite Cruiser" on can't buy a thrill. Personally, I'm pretty keen on this one. Despite Becker & Fagen later describing it as "stinko," I think it holds up pretty well. The use of steel guitar makes it mesh really well into the sound of Can't Buy a Thrill, and I'd definitely recommend giving it a listen. JiveMiguel1980 has an excellent remaster which you can find on YouTube, and the band Poco covered this song in 1975.

Sail the Waterway

I'm not going to have too much to say about a lot of these songs, and this is definitely one of those. It's nice enough. The instrumentation once again feels very in line with the sound of CBAT, and this song features a pretty nice guitar solo, as well as some nice backing vocals. Sail the Waterway also has another great remaster by JiveMiguel1980 on YouTube that is worth checking out if you enjoy the song.

Can't Buy a Thrill Demos and Outtakes

Moving now from songs released before Can't Buy a Thrill and on to the Demos and Outtakes of the albums themselves. Steely Dan fans have been compiling this into their own little bootlegs since before the internet, so I'll be able to share most of them with one link, and we'll briefly run down through the songs in order as they appear:

Gullywater: This one's just plain fun! The lyrics are very of their time but I find the song's heavy reliance on just kind of stating metaphors to be endearing. The guitar on this one is also just killer. Check out the JiveMiguel1980 remaster, and It's at this point that I'd also like to note that yes, I am going to recommend JiveMiguel1980 remasters a lot, they make a lot of them and they're very good

Sakka Joweda: This one is probably my favorite CBAT outtake, it's really catchy and very high energy for Steely Dan. The chorus on this one gets stuck in my head for the rest of the day every time I hear it, and the closing organ bit is very distinct for them. Check out the JiveMiguel1980 remaster if you like this one as always. I'd have to agree with the studio chatter at the end of this one, Sakka Joweda is "real good."

Any World (That I'm Welcome To): You might recognize this one from their 1975 album "Katie Lied," Any World is one of a couple of Steely Dan demos to find new life on subsequent albums. This version of it is very good on its own, having the sparser piano and drum sound of a lot of Steely Dan demos, but it doesn't quite hold up as well when compared to its later officially released iteration (you just can't compete with Michael McDonald.)

Running Child: This one to me is another solid-but-not-exceptional demo, which is probably why infamous perfectionist Donald Fagen prevented it from being included on the album. This one also has a JiveMiguel1980 remaster if it sticks out to you.

Megashine City: This song is alright, like Sakka Joweda I think its strongest part is its chorus. This one has a very 60s country-ish americana sound that I don't personally care for, and I think wouldn't sound out of place with a lot of other bands of the era, but it still has enough of that Dan feel going for it that I'll listen to it on occasion.

Stay There: This is just studio chatter and instrument futzing I think. If you're listening to Can't Buy a Thrill Demos and Outtakes as though it were a real album, it's a fun little transitional piece.

Midnite Cruiser (Alternate Mix): This is an alternate mix of Midnite Cruiser, the track from Can't Buy a Thrill. Not too too much is different, but it is pretty neat.

This was my first Lost Steely Dan Saturday, I've been wanting to blog about this stuff for a little bit, and finally settled on this as the format. Next week I'll most likely be covering Katy Lied & The Royal Scam, as Countdown to Ecstasy and Pretzel Logic outtakes either don't exist or remain lost media at present. Not sure how this style of post is going to perform, but I am mostly just making these for my own enjoyment. However, if anyone has questions or notes they can feel free to reach out to me about them.

oh shit? whats that skanking this way? are those some more summer songs? are those some summer songs spliced seamlessly alongside some ska since Skaugust started? seems interesting, maybe u should pick em up and take a listen if u get the chance... might be the rudest sounds of the SKAmmer...

🎺spotify link ⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜ yt link🎺

notes on each ⬜⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛ below the cut :3

Remember Summer Days - Anri: my city pop kick has not ended as you will continue to see. its the kinda shit that makes me wanna be taken on a warm evening drive. yeahh bitch i control the music and im not even driving >:3 sorry. umm also the horns make the song fit our skankin tone this time around so very well. they are like sisters <3

Car Song - Danny L Harle, MC Boing - speaking of drives! if, say, you are ever driving in a car, or perhaps playing music in a car this would be the track to signal to those around u that u are doing those things. i just love mc boing also. so much dumb hype that i cant help but follow his lead and bounce along. check out his like three other songs if u get the changce soun

Death Grips is Online - Death Grips: i was looking at my 'summer rewind' on spotify and this was apparently a death grips song i had listened to a lot a few years ago just without getting into any more death grips after that? it makes sense tho i was listening to a lot of igor of tyler the creator fame around that time. i was probably like ooooh this has that hard cunchy igor bass i like. and was like 😂 what the heck is the rest of their stuff tho seriously tihs is craazy 😂. probably is how i was like back then. tch. fool.

Flaunt It/Cheap - Rae Sremmurd: amen break waveform tattooed on my forehead running up to u voice HEY U SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS SONG THEY. HEY> THEY RAP OVER AN AMEN BREAK ITS GOOD. okay thats misleading they only do that for a bit but after that the flow is very amen break inspired..but then beat switch thats still very good i love a good beat switch and all.... i just wish he kept spitting over that pure amen break sample. paws in pockets kicking the dirt as i walk away.....

Helium - Ecco2k (Drain Gang Archives): comes back excitedly to talk about draing gang ^w^. this time around our drain gang entrance is actually a bootleg posted by a drain gang leak aggregator on spotify. in case u were wonering this is probably the best of those unreleased/leaked songs ........... ecco's voice fits this song so well with all his falsetto stuff (get it it's like helihey it's like a helium balloon get it his voice it's hifh) but he also does that on his other songs bc he's a beautiful angel. GOd and his pouty fucking sighs in the chorus god i just wann[

Merlin's Staff - Ski Mask The Slump God: as i posted about before i love me some ski mask :) i hadnt listened to a lot of his new stuff until i watched his most recent interview with nardwuar. it is from here that i found this song bc ski mask references nardy on the track. HOWEVER. i would be remiss if i did not talk about my favorite lyric from this song that ive refrained from just posting as is. makes me GIGGLE every goddamn time.

"On the go like Mario, drive in a kart

Lisa Simpson, her head sharp"

now he does bring this back around to be a joke about her "giving brain" but just that line alone with the cadence gets stuck in my head. Li. sa. Simp. son. Her. Head. Sharp.

Morning Bell - Radiohead: speaking of... head? been catching up with ol mr. head recently on account of people i know whose music opinions i trust liking his tunes a lot (hai :3) this is My preferred morning bell btw.... for u music perverts out there who wanna know (hai :3) .... the drum groove is irresistible and the piano feels so cooold. cmon its in 5/4.... like im sorry to those whom i may have disappointed i do like amnesiac morning bell it feels a lot eerier.. yet brighter with all the bells? and the 'release me's in that one are very pretty but. kid a morning bell 👍

your clothes - Jane Remover: still havent listened to new jane BUT i have gone back to revisit old stuff i hadnt listened to in a while. upon listening to this one i was reminded Wow! Jane just doesn't miss! so congrats to Jane the Remover on being the only artist to have never left some songs thus far. may ur reign be long.

Last Summer Whisper - Anri: i leave you with this. the last whisper of summer. the last whisper of my city pop kick. the last whisper of some songs until fall right guys? do u guys hear a train?

⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️

⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️⬜️⬛️

Train to Skaville (Live) - The Selecter: ALLLLLLLLL ABOOOOOOOAAAARRRD. THIS TRAIN. IS BOUND. FOR. SKAVILLE!!!!!!!!! wait oh shit i can't leave yet i have a train to catch 😳someone made a joke to me last year about this song (i believe it was in September they said 'the train to skaville has left the station') and i straight up didnt get it at the time bc i was kind of a poser skahead when i made my skaugust post eheh nervous laughs bc i pretended to know it in that post ehehe ^^ . i do believe in ska fans beliefs (that ska is good, and anticapitalism probably) i just didnt know much about it besides like stupid horse did it that one time and that post about a kid getting an extra mozz stick.. anyway fast forward one year this fucking song is the idle music in my head. i pretend to be that funky ass bass on this song a lot too hehe. there are MANT live versions of this song on yt so i chose the most fitting one for the playlist but the one ive been listening to is the spotify one -w-

Superman - Goldfinger - this is the archetypal ska song to me. and u know why. that fucking post about that kid getting an extra mozzarella stick and ska plays in his head. from uo there ^. this is the song on that post. this is like capital s Ska to me. u know how people associate dnb with really slick games u grind on rails and skate/snowboard in. make the main character 12 and sucking ass on his first shitty skateboard rolling around his neighborhood and the soundtrack is now ska. only this song actually. it is good tho is the important thing

Never Meant - Skatune Network, JER:

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I'm Not Okay (I Promise) - Skatune Network, JER:

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Come on Eileen - Save Ferris:

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Take On Me - Reel Big Fish: what can i say im a sucker for a ska cover? SKA-ver. heh so true

Old SKrAp - Jeff Rosenstock: i believe jeff rosenstock has done other things which i will get to eventually like all things but i know him specifically for having made an album called No Dream (that i... havent listened to :/) which released in 2020 (05/20 specifically). and then.. on 04/20 of 2021 (!!!!!!!!!!! WEEED WEED ITS WEED) he released Ska Dream, which, of course, is a complete reworking of No Dream but to be Ska instead. the original title of this song is Old Crap which they still sing in the song i just love how they put SKA into the title. all of them are like this btw.

stupid horse - 100 gecs: the OG. also s/o aimkid amv. s/o all aimkid amvs but thats beside the point. there was a point in 100 gecstory that there were maybe only a few interviews they did after 1000 gecs and ofc not many live performance videos besides minecraft festival screen recordings and maybe one video of a show from the secret tour. but there was an interview from skullcandy of all places with an accompanying live performance of stupid horse that i rewatched sevreal times :) ......... i thought the neon green and yellow set pieces and outfits were cool ok??? anyway fucking stupid horse yeah a swordfish dancer spend my money on a fishnet carousel go go go go goin so fast now go go go go goin so fast now.

Frog On The Floor - 100 gecs: and then they did it again :)

I Got My Tooth Removed - 100 gecs: and did it again :)

Two-By-Four-And-A-Half - Thee Goblins: as i said before ive been narding it up recently with some nardwuar interviews. my favorite thing about him is his elusiveness as like. a guy who does things besides being nardwuar. and my favorite story about him doing other things is that on his quest to interviewing kurt cobain, he tried talking to dave grohl and somehow dave recognized nardwuar from a band he's in (this band Thee Goblins :3). but the band wears masks when they perform so u cant see its nardwuar. and he still knew it was him without the mask and i guess felt enough respect for nardwuar in that moment to decide to get him an in with kurt, which did come to fruition BTW. anyway this song is a SKA SONG by NARDWUAR himself.... this isn't on the yt playlist unfortch but there is a good video of the nardman himself and others as thee goblins.

Ska Sucks - Big D and the Kids Table: found this one while just ska-ouring ska-tify for more ska. and idk theres just something in a good subversive title (and lyrics if u venture to take a listen >w< ).anyway this ska doesn't suck its quite good actually :) this is a theme in ska if u could not tell. being quite good not sucking. sorry if that was unclear.

yyyaWWWn ummmmmmmn.. okay This is ewher i leave u.. with all the skanking ive been doing i believe ive kicked up a month long ska storm... but i hear there are some pretty rude winds forecasted to come in later today so oerhaps keep ur ears to the wind on that front 😳... um anyway peels off in my car i am sooooo licensed to operate leaving u behind with this helpful guidento steer your path. and this, thjs last SKA-mmer whisper, is how ill leave u until fall music fans :3 <3

things no one talks about from the reunion concert

the event itself honestly was not that well organized and it took almost 2 hours to get everyone into the theatre. the good news is i was able to run around and meet some ppl there

also you could see everyone in the wings? jon and lolo were standing there for a good majority of the time before the show just looking out at the audience

GIDEON GLICKS OUTFIT WHY WAS BRO DRESSED LIKE HE WAS ON A JOG

and then once the show started it took so long for anyone onstage to even sit down. the time before lea sang the first note felt like an eternity

christine estabrook pronouncing wendla with a soft W at the beginning of the show💀

oh and then i sat and watched lea michele READ (Yes u read that right. I saw her read in real time) her first few lines. so

MAMA. WHO. BORE. ME. REPRISE. i have genuinely never heard a more electric version of this song. all the girls' voices have aged beautifully and yet it was still somehow the same as it had always been.

the absolute flood of spit that came out of jon groff's mouth every time he said "you waTCH me"

jbw smelling his hand after my junk?

THE UNDERSTUDIES ENTERING 💀 it was so funny for some reason. they weren't onstage until brian sang his verse in touch me. so weird

jbw and gideon all over each other during touch me

watching lilli and lauren sing the dark i know well was beyond unreal. i felt like i was in a different world watching them sing it. they were like 40 feet from me.

john gallagher jr did NOT remember any of the words to these songs My guy was holding his script for the entire show. How did u play this role for years and i know it better than u do by watching the bootleg like 30 times

vs jon groff performing the mbn choreo flawlessly (and me sobbing)

the jgroff lea michele making out action that was just there . Like guys this is just a semi staged concert why r u horizontal kissing at the imperial theatre on a monday evening

they showed a video during intermission that i've never seen anyone post anything from. i guess i should upload that somewhere

THE BABY CRYING DURING THE GUILTY ONES. WHO BROUGHT THEIR MF BABY TO THIS EVENT. i lowkey think it mightve been one of the casts babies but also Why did they bring the baby .

john. gallagher. jr. and the way he welcomed us back to moritz's world of neon lights and angst in a single beat. as soon as john started the chorus of dds that was it for me. i was back in 2006 and i was watching moritz, not john.

and also just in general how we (the generation who grew up on the bootleg rather than seeing the show for ourselves) never really saw what became of john's moritz. the last we saw of john in the role was almost a year before he left. it was very different from what i'd known of him. but never ever in a bad way i love you john.

john's chair sat empty for the entire rest of the show after dds which just kind of hit hard

how the theatre EXPLODED for the entirety of totally fucked. if you've seen the boots from any of the final performances you know. everyone in the theatre was cheering and screaming and weeping

jon groff singing to the girls in the front row during fucked oh my god i was so JEALOUS

the applause for totally fucked lasted a solid 5 minutes probably. totally fucked was never my favorite song until i experienced that

jonny b and gideon glick going at it during woybr . Rekindling an old romance i fear

gideon was trying not 2 laugh during reformatory scene. actually he wasnt really trying not 2 he was just laughing his ass off

i honest to god don't remember those you've known or song of purple summer. i was so in the moment that i just didn't take it with me, and honestly i am okay with that. it's the part of me i left at the imperial that night.

thank you forever spring awakening. i can't believe it's already been a year.

I'm making a quiz in Phantom and want to make a question about the minor characters played by the ensemble, like the monkey in Masquerade, and the Confidante in Il Muto. I'd like to ask if you happen to have made a list of them or seen one before (It doesn't need to include all of them). I can't find much information on Google. Thanks in advance.

Well, the thing about ensemble actors is that they're playing multiple characters throughout the show, it's not like a principal role where it's one-and-done. (So for example, the Christine understudy typically plays the Hannibal princess, the Mirror Bride, the Triangle Girl, a lady during the rehearsal scene, and perhaps a lady or page in Don Juan Triumphant.) Playbills and programs and the like will often list one or two of those roles, but not all of them. Many of them also don't have individual lines, they sing as a chorus, but if you want to include them (and you seem to since you include the Monkey as an example), you are essentially asking someone to look through the musical and list every character that shows up in the show that isn't a principal or supporting character. No wonder Google isn't going to help you!

But I can make an attempt, I suppose. Here's a not that complete listing of minor characters in most scenes in Phantom, gathered by looking at the libretto, programs, an archived version of Operafantomet's costume site, and of course, various bootlegs of the show itself, mainly sticking to the replica, as characters will vary across different productions and eliminating repeats (e.g. Buquet shows up in three scenes but I only put him in his first):

Auction Auctioneer Porters Auction guests Raoul's nurse

Hannibal Lefevre Reyer Buquet Princesses Slave master Slave girls Lion man Wild woman Soldiers Gollywog (now removed) Stage hand Wardrobe mistress

Dressing Room Conductor Servants with flowers Degas ballerinas Madame Firmin Madame Andre (only in the 25th) Mirror Bride

Il Muto Don Attilio Confidante Hairdresser Jeweler Jeweler's maid (played by Meg) Pageboy (played by Christine) Shepherd Sylphides

Masquerade Solo male dancer (only in the 25th) Drummer Triangle girl Monkey Rigoletto Man/woman Mandarin man Triton Butterfly girl Flower girl Fish girl Gibson girl "Gypsy" girl Hula girl Bonbon Gauloise Bo Peep Autumn lady Green and gold lady Rococo lady Fan lady African man Tweedledum Bacchus Buccaneer Executioner Snow Lady The domino The clown Bee woman (later addition) Various dummies

Don Juan Rehearsal Laughing man Rehearsal men Rehearsal women

Don Juan Triumphant Police chief Marksman Policemen Firemen Lamp lighter Donna (played by Carlotta) Spanish ladies Innkeeper Innkeeper's wife (sometimes Carlotta?) Page Monk Pipe smoker "Gypsy" (played by Meg) Passarino

Final Lair Rat catcher Members of the mob

Chess - 1990 Sydney version

Tumblr user fascinating-yarn sent me a nice ask with some pointers about other versions of Chess to check out, so I have now watched one! This one exists as a bootleg on YouTube, in pretty terrible quality but with subtitles, which is the only reason I could make out any of the lyrics/dialogue, so many thanks to whichever fandom angels provided that.

This version is very different from London/Chess in Concert, totally rearranged (but still with book and lyrics by Tim Rice). There's only one chess tournament, set in Bangkok, between Freddie and Anatoly; Anatoly just applies for UK citizenship in the middle of it. The pacing definitely works out way better here - the first chess match starts very early (compare to Chess in Concert where it's some 35 minutes in), with some of the other stuff like "The Merchandisers" interleaved with it instead of dragging out the lead-up with it. The Arbiter matters a bit more, Svetlana gets a bit more focus since she's there with Anatoly from the start and expresses concern about Anatoly's obsession with winning the match affecting their relationship, Florence gets some new lines that give her a bit more depth.

The romance between Florence and Anatoly doesn't really make me care about it any more here - if anything it's even clumsier, since they sort of start to dance early in "Mountain Duet" for what feels like no reason at all, and Anatoly seemingly defects the actual day after meeting her just that once, while his wife is literally there, which just feels like a bizarre dick move. But also it feels like this production doesn't want us to care quite as much - I think it's basically down to how it doesn't have the whole "One More Opponent"/"You and I" scene, which tips the balance so that Florence and Anatoly's relationship feels less like an emotional throughline we ought to be invested in and more like just one of the facts of the plot. So in some ways it works better, even though I'm still deeply uninvested.

The ending is considerably changed. "The Soviet Machine" features Molokov explaining to his cronies that they're in a win-win situation (I like how well that works with the "Not one move that won't improve our nation's chances" lyric), where regardless of the outcome of the match the Soviet Union can consider it a victory now that Anatoly has defected, but the ideal outcome for them would be if Anatoly doesn't show up for the match at all and comes crawling back to Moscow. So that's the outcome that Molokov and Walter are pushing for, and Florence really does try to persuade Anatoly to ditch the match so that she can get her father back, which he then ultimately ignores.

"Endgame" itself then plays out very differently. In the London/Chess in Concert version, Florence and Svetlana's voices both argue fiercely that Anatoly ought to throw the match and berate him for not doing so while he argues back. This one has the chorus shaming him for not showing up initially, until he does appear; then during the match Florence and Svetlana sing one of their original verses - only for Anatoly to have a moment where he turns away from the board and sings:

Then I think of her Her and her father What would she prefer? I know I'd rather Never win again than feel that I'd betrayed them

All in all Anatoly's inner conflict during the game is quite different - it's all about deciding on the bit where he will go back to the Soviet Union afterwards, sacrificing his chance to actually make his defection reality, while he's already going for winning the game as soon as he shows up, and during the game he thinks about how he doesn't want to betray Florence instead of arguing with her view on it.

That's not really a bad change - in a way it feels more straightforwardly coherent, compared to the London/Chess in Concert version of him spending the song digging in his heels about winning the game and concluding Florence and Svetlana just want to control him and never understood him only to afterwards decide to give himself up for Florence's father anyway (I ultimately kind of like that progression because it's very like an agitated, distressed human under pressure, but it is somewhat abrupt). But I don't find myself liking this version of the endgame as much, perhaps mainly just because I don't find Anatoly very sympathetic in this version generally - we've cut out most of the bits with him being conflicted and distressed about the mind games being played with him, so he's just kind of there, cheating on his wife, being immediately smitten with Florence for some reason, defecting and sending her flowers in the same breath, and then eventually making this decision. I cared about him in Chess in Concert in a way I don't really here, even if I didn't care enough about the relationship.

And then, of course, Freddie here is entirely missing his arc. He's just an antagonist and that's all, "Pity the Child" is put as a petulant contemplation of how he's always been a winner that doesn't lead to anything or mean anything, no "Talking Chess" moment of any kind. As a result, this Freddie is not really very compelling at all to me, just kind of a boring misogynist asshole who is there and has a vague throwaway Freudian excuse but no real depth or development.

This version is more one for the women; Florence and Svetlana both get a somewhat better deal here overall, I think, which is nice. And again, in terms of structure and pacing it definitely does a very solid job of making it play out in a much tighter way without getting boring.

But for me personally, it didn't quite have the glue that really stuck in my brain about Chess in Concert - if I'd watched this version to begin with I probably would've shrugged and gone, "Eh, it was okay, didn't do too much for me, soundtrack had some nice bits I guess," and moved on, instead of writing three different posts and spending a couple of days putting together a recurring motif chart.

It's fascinating to compare and contrast, though. I'm already a nerd about revisions and adaptations of fiction so a work with a bunch of different versions all with their own different takes and strengths is very much a thing that's liable to nerdsnipe me. I will probably also watch the 1990 Long Beach version which also appears to exist on YouTube in fully captioned form (again, all of my respect and gratitude to the fandom angels who do stuff like caption things).

Happy Halloween, everyone! To mark the occasion, I thought I’d share something I’ve been working on. You may be aware that years ago, I made a page where I translated the Japanese lyrics for POTO. (Link is below.) I’ve been meaning to update it with some corrections and fixes, and may move it to Tumblr because of some issues I’ve had with Weebly since making the page.

But recently, I learned that in the time since the show reopened in Japan after the pandemic, those in charge have made some changes to the lyrics and other aspects of the show to bring Japan’s production more in line with those in London and the US. I got an audio bootleg from Masked Lion and spent some time over the last couple of weeks listening to it and noting the changes I could identify.

Recording from January 17, 2021; Tokyo, Japan

Cast: Yuta Iwaki, Sae Yamamoto, Susumu Kato, Aya Kawamura, Koichi Taira, Morito Masuda, Kimura Chiaki, Atsuto Yamada, Mariko Gosho

(info from Glass Prism)

My notes (far too many for your taste?)

- Auctioneer sounds more dramatic than in other performances

- Added a “Saa!” (“Now!” or “Here!”) at the end of the Prologue

- Overture is using the new track

- Reyer still insists on “Romu” (which doesn’t mean anything) over “Roma” (which is correct)

- Counterpoint in the “Hannibal” chorus when they start singing again after the ballet/instrumental seems to be missing

- Key change in ToM is now D-F like in all other productions; Japan had kept it as D-Eb (like the OLC album and early West End performances) for their whole run before Covid

- Christine seems more staccato on some notes in ToM

- Phantom still says “Bravi”/“Bravissimi” before AoM

- Phantom is more mocking on “brave young suitor” than usual — Ethan/Brad influence?

- Chorus added to title song — lyrics are “A world hidden in darkness… That is the Phantom of the Opera”

- IHBY - Watashi ga (instead of wa)? Grammatically iffy; probably a flub

- Extra timpani on “long to be” — live orchestra?

- Orchestra mostly at the usual (somewhat fast) tempo for Japanese MOTN, but slower in last instrumental break?

- Music box kept slow, unlike London/Bway/restaged

- Phantom a bit ahead of the beat in “Damn you” section of STYDI

- Magical Lasso — lines rearranged (description of Phantom first, then avoiding being caught)

- Changed line for “In which case I think our meeting is adjourned,” and possibly for Firmin’s spoken part reading Phantom’s note

- Slower tempo for first verse of “Prima Donna”

- Slower tempo for first part of “Poor Fool…” and in the ballet

- Rather Earl-like laugh after Buquet’s hanging

- Restaged orchestrations for “But his voice filled my spirit…”

- Sound effects make it seem like they did something like the restaged or new London version for the chandelier drop?

- Gets rather slow in the instrumental break for Masquerade

- Need to go over “Madame Giry’s Tale” in older boots to see if anything was changed

- Chaotic bit in Notes 2 doesn’t get as fast… I liked that it did in the older versions

- “Twisted Every Way” is slower, which I *am* glad for

- Christine says “I can’t do it,” orchestra transition is like the restaged version

- “Hide your sword now, wounded knight” bit in DJT Rehearsal may be changed?

- POTO reprise before graveyard changed to original title song lyrics

- WYWSHA second verse changed, somewhat flipped the lines

- Second “help me say goodbye” added

- “Wandering Child” now a trio; Raoul’s lines added

- Intro and many sections of “Don Juan” performance sound quite slow

- Some laughter added for Piangi and Passarino

- PONR slower, more like other productions’ tempos

- Kokoro *mo* kimeta wa? (“My heart has *also* decided”)

- Good tentative emotion from Phantom in AIAOY reprise after PONR

- Phantom yells “Naze? Naze da?” (“Why? Why?”) instead of singing “Naze kou na no da?” (“Why does it have to be this way?”)

- “Track Down This Murderer” after Raoul’s dive starts quite slow, gets faster

- Octave jump in “it’s in your soul…” brought back

- Phantom’s reply to Raoul in

- now “Nasake nado shiranai (“I don’t know compassion” instead of “I don’t have compassion”)

- “Sou, mohaya modorenai” — last “We’ve passed the point of no return” in Final Lair is changed

- “Make your choice” shouted rather than sung

- Slow drumbeat

- “Go now…” shouted rather than sung

- Mistake from the brass in MOTN section of playout

Cheers!

- Toru771

Dear Schmigadoon’s writers,

I am deeply sorry for not powering through season 2 even though I wasn’t as familiar with what you were parodying (although the Jesus Christ Superstar bits cracked me up).

Being a drama kid who grew up in rural America in the 90s, the “golden age” stuff was what my school and the local community theatres could afford the rights to. The 80s/90s you were going to take on in Season 3 was what we salivated over, saved up for the cast recordings and imagined what they’d look like on stage, maybe sometimes lucked out and made a friend who’d moved from a big city and could give us a copy of a copy of a copy of a VHS bootleg.

The in-between zone, the Chicagos and A Chorus Lines and Sweeney Todds got a bit looked over in my musical upbringing, and so I zoned out a bit and missed the end of season 2.

I now feel bad, because I genuinely would’ve liked to see where you took it. I’m immensely and genuinely sorry for not seeing it through to the end.

Well good morning darling! Please consider this ask a a down deposit for whenever the next six-sentence weekend may be. For i come bearing lyrics that while the chorus fits the Hackett family to a fucking T, literally none of the rest of the lyrics do so you get them as a prompt and not a recommendation lol.

'I figured

"Oh, hey, maybe just ignore it, it'll go away

Keep it in the family for today"

Everybody knows

Everybody knows somebody with something to hide'

All you had to do was keep an ear open; in towns like theirs, small towns, close ones, ones where everyone knew everyone else's business, you heard plenty of it out in the open, so deeply rooted and so well known that people didn't bother covering their mouths as they spoke on it. It came in snippets, half-heard in grocery aisles or out back of the bar, said in the same matter-of-fact tones the weather was discussed in: "...cancer, you know, like his father had..." "...whole damn family's got it, that, oh whatsitcalled, with the thyroid..." "...once they start bleeding they just don't stop, and I heard it's all on account of that mother of theirs..."

You never heard them talk about the Hacketts that way, though - if you listened close, you realized no, they never had anything to say about the Hacketts that they couldn't say with a full chest and straight to their faces.

Mostly because no one could figure out just what it was, the thing that was wrong inside of them, whether it was borne in the blood, bone, or brain. Anyone who was anyone in North Kill had grown up at the knee of someone - a grandparent or great-uncle - who'd filled their heads with talk of Septimus Hackett's wicked temper or Francis Hackett's legendary brutality, the former cheating his workers out of their livelihoods while the latter simply shackled his children to boozing and bootlegging, how both were always smart enough to keep a son, nephew, cousin, kin planted firmly among the law to ensure nothing ever came of it.

But Jed and his had never done anything wrong, so far as anyone in town could tell, so...whatever was wrong in their line, whatever sickness they passed down from one to another, well...it probably skipped a generation or two.

six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

Okay, so I watched Hamilton last night with two friends in Hamburg! It's amazing! Me and one of my friends we started with watching illegal bootlegs in like 2019 and now we were there. And it was in our own language. Crazy!

But here's the things we liked and disliked:

😍 King George is the shopping queen (translation of "he's on a spending spree")

😍 to be honest, king george was the best! He killed it! Better than groffsauce i think (i am very ashamed, but it's true). He's so funny and the way he sings is great! He kind of reminds me of baby daffy duck in the baby looney tunes, the way he spits and talks around his tongue. Amazing dude!

😍 frei sein (be free) instead of "rise up". Love it! Conveys something else but, like good. Their ultimate goal is to be free not to fight in a war (okay, sort of at least) and it goes so well with the whole freedom talk in story of 2night

😍 there is this one cast member who doesn't have a single line on his own. Only chorus. And then in Non-Stop: Ich wäre bewusstlos! (I would be unconscious) instead of "Yo, who the f is this?" Not at all what he says in the original but so so funny out of context, we were laughing so hard.

😍 burr was great! Really, I might be biased, but he was soo good. I saw him as Martin Luther King a few years back and it really fits together perfectly. So great!

😍 Ich will in dem Zimmer sein (I wanna be in the room where it happens). Very clever. I first thought it should be "raum" instead of "zimmer", but no it's perfect. Zimmer = Room. Raum = Space (like the space around you in the metaphorical sense). Pretty cool, whole song amazing!

😍 lams was sooooo gaaaay. Amazing. I was this close to shout: kiss! at them. They kept touching each other in rather ... inappropriate places...

😍 mulligan straight up barks during "my dog is more eloquent than thee"

😍 cabinet battle #2: Dir wurde ins Gehirn gekackt! Somebody shat in your brains instead of "you must be out of your goddamn mind" hilarious

😍 hamilton sobbing at the end of it's quiet uptown. Angelica sobbing at the end of satisfied!

😍 hamilton was so smiley all the time. Very young actor, but very fitting. Strange that he was always smiling (smile more, like wtf burr?) but I would also be always smiling if I were the first german hamilton. But no, he smoked weed. Yes, hamilton says he smoked weed. I dunno when, but I think it was in my shot. Very weird, but funny. Explains the smiles.

😍 burr was in a traffic jam. Ok, not literally. But instead of "I came to say congratulations" in story of 2night reprise he says something like "i got delayed". Funny

😍 Du störst, Burr! You disturb, Burr/You are the worst, Burr!

😍 peggys pigtails

😵‍💫 washington. I don't like him. At all. He doesn't seem wise or like a dad to hamilton. He seems harsh and unlikeable. Bad choice.

😵‍💫 laurens hair in act 1. I don't know what that was, but terrible is the truth.

😵‍💫 auf uns vier legendäre jungs! To us four legendary boys. Yes. That's supposed to be "Raise a glass to the four of us". Not good at all.

😵‍💫 Er wird nie im weißen Haus sein. He'll never be in the white house. Like, did that even exist then? I think not. And "never gonna be president" now vibes differently.

😵‍💫 the fast rap songs weren't translated very well. Guns and Ships wasn't very good. Neither was We know, which I normally really love.

😵‍💫 all three main women seemed like they had a very hard time. Their presence on stage was very subdued, they were easily overshadowed by the revolutionaries. I dunno why. Peggy was cute, but that was it. Angelica seemed to be nothing really. Eliza seemed very quiet and reserved, fitting to her character, but difficult on stage. Maybe also caused by Schuyler sisters questionable translation. Läuft instead of work. I dunno how to transmate it, but it sure as hell doesn't mean work.

😵‍💫 babe, ich will dein badewasser saufen. Wtf, Burr? Babe, I wanna drink your bath water? Instead of I'm a trust fund baby, you can trust me. Very bad.

🤮 es ist leise uptown. Nope. Terrible. Leave it in english, seriously!

❤️‍🔥 brenn/burn! Amazing translation. You destroyed two lives and she sure as hell didn't mean hamilton himself, but herself and maria. Very good! I think it had the best translation. Generally, the softer songs instead of the raps had a better translation, but it's also easier.

😇 very religious? Okay, we sort of took notice because we study religion, but very great.

😇 You are more popular than the messiah at pentecost Washington to hamilton during right hand man. Love it!

😇 We proceed like Moses into the promised land during my shot! Sooo good!

Conclusion: When can I go again? Please, I need to see it again!

FLP POETRY BOOK OF THE DAY: Still Life with Rope and River by Chavonn Williams Shen

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Still Life with Rope and River explores #racism through a chorus of voices surrounding #Emmett #Till’s #murder. Through research in combination with emotional truth, Williams Shen uses persona poems to dive deep into the psyche of both common and lesser known people and objects regarding Till’s #lynching. Williams Shen also weaves in their own narrative and family history of how #Blackness is dissected and dismissed, illustrating how the past is a ghost to the present. #poetry

Chavonn Williams Shen (she/they) is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was a 2022 McKnight Writing fellow and a first runner-up for The Los Angeles Review Flash Fiction Contest. She was also a Best of the Net Award finalist, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a winner of the Loft Literary Center’s Mentor Series, a fellow with the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, and an instructor for the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. A Bread Loaf, Tin House, VONA, and Hurston/Wright workshop alum, her writing has appeared in: Diode Poetry Journal, Anomaly, AGNI,and others. Still Life with Rope and River is her debut book.

PRAISE FOR Still Life with Rope and River by Chavonn Williams Shen

“In poems that are, by turns, inventive, provocative, and frank, Still Life with Rope and River weaves the past and the present together with the national and the personal as part of an urgent but subtle reminder that if we can’t remember America’s violent history, we’re doomed to repeat it. These poems are difficult and challenging at times but also encouraging. “Let us praise how we’ve thrived under war,” Chavonn Williams Shen concludes. “We’ve made things that tried to kill us into fields of sunflowers…” Ultimately, what emerges is a testament to survivors, to resiliency. Still Life with Rope and River heralds the arrival of an innovative and uncompromising poetic voice.”

–Michael Kleber-Diggs

“Let us praise how we’ve thrived under war” begins the final poem in this haunting, unsettling, unflinching collection. There are moments here of sweetness, of something akin to joy or peace in the midst of the terror, fear, evil, and rotten Americanness Chavonn Williams Shen lays bare. In the linage of Marilyn Nelson’s A Wreath for Emmett Till and other seminal works by Black authors that trouble and attend to the history of lynching that lead to and echos from Till’s murder, Chavonn Williams Shen wields a dark imagination inside archives personal, shared real, and darkly dreamed and the result is as stunning as it is painful, or stunning for it’s pain, or while I felt so much pain I was stunned to stillness while Chavonn Williams Shen told this tale. Not an easy book, but a book we need.”

–Danez Smith

“Chavonn Williams Shen has done powerful conjure work here, bringing Emmett Till and his executioners back to life on the page, a balancing act that the reader will find both harrowing and holy. They give voice to a Greek chorus of witnesses to past and contemporary brutalities, rendering these spirits in nimble poems: deft portraits of those unatoned who escaped the judgment they deserved a thousand times over, and whose crimes continue to haunt this blood-soaked nation. Chavonn Williams Shen also gives space and breath to ancestors who survived the unspeakable as a matter of faith in an unknown future, of communion with seeds and songs of home they consecrated with their love and labor.”

–Sun Yung Shin

“Death relishes its to-do list” writes Chavonn Williams Shen early in the acerbic Still Life with Rope and River, a collection that arrays the leering zeal, the rotten assurance, toxic decorum, and bootlegged empathy of white supremacy’s murder urge. Against this, like water at the muck-filled mud of a riverbank, flows the anger and heartbreak and bewilderment running through Black grief, the deep blue low attending life at the top of Death’s daybook. Inanimate objects come to witness and testify, too, asserting a horror that stains the damn world. That is Bryant and Milam’s killing of Emmett Till. Certainly, the poet doesn’t relish keeping this story alive, but Chavonn Williams Shen has done so with wrenching vigor.”

–Douglas Kearney

Please share/please repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #poetrybook #read #poems #EmmettTill #racism #blackpoet #blackness

Middle Kids – Faith Crisis Pt. 1

It’s a funny feeling when your heart and mind are going in different directions. Middle Kids tackle this concept head on with grace and poise on Faith Crisis Pt. 1, that finds the Sydney-based indie rockers exploring the limits of their sound. While their vision came fully-formed on their sophomore LP, Today We’re The Greatest, Faith Crisis Pt. 1 is a small departure in the direction I would have liked for them to go. But hey, that’s music. Hannah Joy remains as captivating as she’s ever been, and checks all the boxes for what you’d want in an interesting lead vocalist. The band chemistry she shares with Tim Fitz and Harry Day pays off more often than not here. The album was produced by Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975, Beabadoobee) and he does an admirable job of honing in on the band’s strengths. The album is largely inspired by Joy’s conflicts with her faith during the writing process of the band’s third studio album, and features a duo of interludes paired with a noteworthy song on each side of the record. The themes on Faith Crisis Pt. 1 range from euphoria, to self-doubt, all the way back to taking the listener on a journey through Joy’s headspace. Middle Kids are at their best when they trust their instincts and block out the rest of the outside noise in this world. This task is easier said than done, but their lyrical commentary remains top notch. The record opens with a steady bassline on “Petition” before exploding into the bright chorus of, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking / ‘Bout all the ways that things could be different? / I have been listening to your petition / I think that it’s finally sinking in.” Joy’s vocals are crisp, and she seems to be singing with a smile in lines like these that feature a shimmering chorus. Things continue to unfold well on “Dramamine” that starts off with a spiraling guitar riff, paired with some great drumming, while Joy admits, “I used to be the saddest girl that you had ever seen / Just need a couple things to sleep, maybe some dramamine,” while still keeping its true heading on the refrain of, “You are the only reason I believe in anything / I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.” It’s a stark contrast between the two sections of the songs, and showcases some of the internal friction going on with Joy. ”The Blessings” is the first song on the LP to be followed by an interlude, and the bellowing piano strikes in the verses pave way for some crunchy guitar riffing on the chorus to avoid the “trap” of the song sounding too dark. Middle Kids really went down an exploratory path on their third album with songs like this to test the limits of their songwriting and keep themselves motivated as artists. The first single to be released from the set, “Bootleg Firecracker,” follows in the album sequencing, and yet it feels a tad out of place after some of the softer sounds that come through the speakers on the last two songs. While I enjoyed the chorus lyrics of, “I’ll keep moving til I see you cruising in / And I am an average dancer / That’s not the point that I am after,” it all feels a little too restrained for the band that captivated my imagination so strongly on their sophomore set. Things pick up well on the next song of “Highlands” that reminds me of why I fell in love with this band in the first place. From the static intro, to when the bass, drums and guitars all come into sync with Joy’s vocals, everything falls into focus like a jigsaw puzzle connecting each intricate part to finally see the full picture. The best song on the album, “Bend” features the heartfelt lyrics of, “Because I am one bend away from a break / I am one step away from the precipice of crazy / I am holding all the pieces in place / But maybe you’ve got to break me to see what I’m made of,” and they are easy to connect with since many of us are at the cusp of our breaking point with the state of the world. Having someone else go through something similar to ourselves brings a certain facet of comfort and connection on a deeper… https://chorus.fm/reviews/middle-kids-faith-crisis-pt-1/

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alrighty ok i'm home now after a long day hewwo.

because i'm bored and i have nothing to do, i'm gonna shuffle maybe 3 times or so and give the lyrics i like, and maybe why as well. who knows.

and this is from my spotify wrapped of 2023, not all my liked songs cause i love changing rules :)

hmmm this is a hard one to dig a lyric out of. i like the song a lot, but i feel like i listen to it more for its general wordiness and rhythm of that, rather than the actual lyrics. either way, i think this is the one that sticks out to me:

I'm like your neighbor's hands on your father's throat: "Sweetie, you go back inside, see this is just for adults" So adult is what we'll be, domestic violence in denim Each tumble down the stairs appeals your puff paint addendum

i'll be honest, i don't understand the last line of that. but the visuals that come with the first two are very clear in my head. especially the line of something being "just for adults." i was told that as a kid, basically as a way for me to mind my business. also like "this is grown folk's conversation."

ah, classic. i love this fall out boy song. it's an amazing closer to the non-deluxe version of infinity on high, which was the CD that i owned and played the hell out of in middle school.

my (obvious) choice for the lyrics that i like are the chorus. there's no real explanation to give, lol. i love the octave note that patrick hits in it, very satisfying to hear.

The truth hurts worse Than anything I could bring myself to do to you.

oh fuck, man. excuse the one musical that has snuck its way into my spotify wrapped this year, but i have to stick with it.

this musical is beautiful, it's about a mom with bipolar disorder and the dysfunctional family that she has, her getting treatment for her bipolar as i think her meds stop working for her, and her dealing with having delusions/hallucinations of her son that died when he was very young.

this song in particular, is about the mom starting medication for bipolar, and thinking about how she misses having episodes, especially mania. she had gotten used to the rhythm of how the cycle is, and now that she doesn't have that "normalcy" to rely on, she doesn't know what to do.

this is especially relatable to me, and very much was around this time last year when my meds stopped working because i stopped taking them consistently. i have more depressive episodes than hypomanic, and every time that i was so low, i'd think about "how i was just doing so well a couple weeks ago", and missing the energy i had, even though i was ignoring how uncomfortable i felt during the time. so, ouch.

i think there's two parts to this song that stand out to me:

I miss the mountains I miss the dizzy heights All the manic magic days And the dark depressing nights

and

Mountains make you crazy Here it's safe and sound My mind is somewhere hazy My feet are on the ground Everything is balanced here And on an even keel Everything is perfect Nothing's real.

i could go on and on about how relatable of lyrics these are, but i don't want to sit here and write a whole journal entry; this post is already so long. but yeah, this song hits in such a tender spot. i love it, though. i love the whole album, and there's a bootleg of the show on youtube.

okay i've decided 3 is all i'm gonna do cause i'm gonna go to the next ask now byeeee