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thevagabondexpress · 3 months

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diagnosing the last hours characters with modern music tastes

Cordelia: I feel like she'd have two modes. The first would be soft, upbeat, folk and country but also piano-based stuff, anything major key and with big sound. Caroline Jones, Ruth B., Noah Kahan. I also thing she'd really like Shakira. That's her kind of day-to-day music, it's what she puts on in the car, around the house, when going for a jog, etc. But she also has a collection of women rap artists of the Megan and OSHUN variety which is what she puts on when she's doing hard workouts/training.

James: I agree that he'd be emo but I don't think he'd actually listen to a lot of "traditional canon" emo music. I think he'd find it too loud and intense in the wrong way. I think he'd prefer shoegaze, a la Radiohead, and bands like Five Three Eyes that are fast but fuzzed out. Generally anything with softer mastering where it sounds great at a lower volume.

Matthew: He'd love disco and neuvo-disco/retro-rock. Gloria Gaynor, Suzanne Somers, MonaLisa Twins, the Lemon Twigs. It's fun and silly and also empowering, besides which I think he'd like the fashion and the sparkle of it all. On his bad days, though, when the depression and/or ptsd and/or temptation to return to the addiction hits hard, what used to be his heavy drinking days, I think he'd fall back on an artist like P!NK or Florence + the Machine. Someone who can speak to the truth of the lowest lows of where he's been and remind him that he doesn't have to go back there, that there are other choices, things to live for. That, with time and effort, it does get better.

Thomas: He dug up the local college student indie rock station and he listens to it religiously. It's a habit he picked up in Madrid, he wanted to listen to Spanish music but didn't know where to look/how to search for it so he acquainted himself with radio and just flipped stations until he found something with a sound he liked. When asked to pick songs individually/curate his own music I think he'd end up falling back on his dad's taste in music: Eric Clapton, Bruce Cockburn, the Stones.

Alastair: I feel like Alastair would have unarguably the vastest taste in music of the lot of them, but also that it would generally run to music from well before his time. His mom has vinyls and cassette tapes from Iran before the Revolution and he's dubbed CDs and MP4's of them so he has his own copies and isn't stealing her. He enjoys listener-supported classical music radio, and also newer instrumental of the Haygood Hardy variety. He likes soft jazz and blues, Mahalia Jackson, Mama Thornton. He would ADORE Nina Simone. I think if I had to give a taste in music from after 1970, I'd say he also probably likes artists like Tracy Chapman and Mint Green that speak to a similar lived experience to his own.

Christopher: On one hand, I don't think he really cares that much about music. On the other hand, I think he would be the type to unapologetically listen to high school concert band music. He got hold of Robert W. Smith's storms series (Into the Storm, The Tempest, The Maelstrom), realized there's a crap ton of pieces in this genre that are Inspired By Science, and now every time Matthew comes down to the basement laboratory he ends up lodging a complaint about the sheer amount of French horn.

Grace: Living with Tatiana I don't think she was really allowed much if any access to music but I imagine she found ways around that anyhow. I think she's the other person who would really enjoy Florence + the Machine. I think most of her music would be older, melancholy women folk singers. Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Claudia Schmidt, the McGarrigle Sisters. I think she'd find them soothing. They'd help her calm down when things get difficult, help her to find beauty in a world that's caused her mostly pain. I think her favorite artist would be Lenka. She's got this kind of upbeat, slightly silly vibe that would make Grace smile but I also think she'd find that songs like "Silhouette" and "Ivory Tower" could speak to her truth when she needs someone to, without getting too deep in and triggering her.

Lucie: She listens to Kpop and movie soundtracks. Also if it's appeared in one of those "badass women" edits over on youtube 100% she has it on her playlist or did at some point.

Jesse: Like Grace, he didn't really have access to music living with Tatiana. Also he was dead for like almost a decade so there's that. He probably mostly listens to whatever Lucie listens to, but I like to think he does experiments like picking a new genre/radio station to listen to every day, trying to figure out what he likes and doesn't like independently of his girlfriend.

Anna: idk. She strikes me as someone who'd like Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also Halsey and Hozier. Maybe bands like Linkin Park and Evanescence—she doesn't say it because she doesn't like being dissed for listening to "old cringe emo" but they got her through gender dysphoria when she was twelve so she knows there's some worth in them.

Charles: He really doesn't listen to music. He listens to NPR or Radio Canada or the British equivalent because it makes him feel up-to-date and liberal but he doesn't actually hear the content, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

@alastairstom @chaosandtwo

#the last hours #cordelia carstairs #james herondale #matthew fairchild #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #christopher lightwood #grace blackthorn #lucie herondale #jesse blackthorn #anna lightwood #charles fairchild #i didn't include ari because i don't feel like i know her well enough to say

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foxes-that-run · 8 months

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Canyon moon

When introducing Canyon Moon in the one night only performance harry said was written at Tom (kid harpoon) and Jenny’s house L.A. in January 2018. Jenny in the song is Tom’s wife and Harry dedicated it to her:

youtube

Longing for home and domestic life

The lyrics refer to Jenny and Tom’s settled life with kids as a dream when compared to leaving his beloved to tour:

“Sky never looked so blue So hard to leave it That's what I always do So I keep thinking back to A time under the canyon moon The world's happy waiting Doors yellow, broken, blue I heard Jenny saying "Go get the kids from school" And I keep thinking back to A time under the canyon moon I'll be gone too long from you”

Remembering lyrics

Harry talks about sharing love of music and not remember lyrics which reminds us of his temper trap tattoo. After the bridge the song ends with ‘looking back’ because the relationship didn’t survive his journey. :

“I'm going, oh, I'm going I'm going, oh, I'm going home Quick pause in conversation She plays songs I've never heard An old lover's hippie music Pretends not to know the words And I keep thinking back to A time under the canyon moon”

Dulcimer

To Rolling Stone Harry spoke about the influence of Joni Michell’s Blue for Canyon Moon: “he and Kid Harpoon tracked down Joellen Lapidus, the woman who built Mitchell’s dulcimer for Blue. She not only made one for Harry, she gave him and Kid Harpoon their first dulcimer lesson at her house.”

Between 3-4 March 2012 Taylor Swift wrote "Nothing New" for Red. She'd just learned to play the Appalachian dulcimer because that's what her hero Joni Mitchell played on Blue. Swift penned this song on a flight from Perth using the instrument, inspired by Mitchell's "A Case Of You." Thank you @mynkno

Laurel Canyon, Joni Mitchell

The canyon is likely Laurel Canyon where Joni Mitchell lived while dating Graham Nash. At the height of their fame in the 70’s Joni and Nash had a strong attraction, broke up and wrote many songs about the heartbreak, including Blue.

California has a similar meaning to Canyon Moon. Joni sings of being weary from travelling in Europe after breaking up with Nash, longing for home in California and includes hoping he will take her as she is ‘strung out on another man’ (breaks my heart every time)

Harry owned a Hollywood Hills house near laurel Canyon, from 2016 which was for sale when he wrote this. The song was written at Toms house ‘around the corner’.

TS also owned a house in the area 2012-2018 which he visited before leaving to tour and she sold the year this was written (to buy another in LA).

In his interview with Zane Lowe about the album at 38:45 in Harry talks about his relationship with California changing and it never being home.

Summary

Canyon moon is bittersweet about a relationship with someone who has a shared love of music, harry gives two outcomes:

The reference to Joni and Nash are a couple who are driven to succeed as famous musicians. Passion and leaving LA to tour were challenges and the relationship ended, as happened in the relationship he is looking back on,

The reference to Jenny show a different path, Harry is daydreaming about having stayed in LA and having domestic bliss with someone who shares his love of music.

The song is about what could have been and missing the relationship rather than place.

#harry styles #canyon moon #taylor swift #haylor #fine line album

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ialwaysknewyouwerepunk · 2 years

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little freak - a close reading

alright, okay. i’ll give the same disclaimer i put at the top of every post that concerns a song that i know means a lot to a lot of people, especially if those meanings are so diverse. this is my interpretation, the way that i see the song, and it’s just one of many. consider it as such if yours is entirely different, bc that’s more than okay. i discuss it in a very queer context, all about gender and identity, so i am aware that my own experience deeply comes into play here. in any case, i hope it serves as a nice read, and i’d love to discuss this mind-blowing song some more with you all :’)

harry’s house, track 6

LYRIC ANALYSIS

Little freak Jezebel You sit high atop the kitchen counter Stay green a little while You bring blue lights to dreams Starry haze Crystal ball Somehow, you've become some paranoia A wet dream just dangling But your gift is wasted on me

“freak”: outcast, ‘unnatural’ person, freak shows historically a place where queer ppl could find refuge and a home (// ‘peculiar’ boy)

“little” in front of it: endearment; talking to a young/inexperienced person

Jezebel

biblical figure. deeply negative connotation in the christian trad. someone who worships false prophets or pretends to be a “servant of God” while actually being a pagan. historically, (probably) a figure who simply stuck to her own beliefs/identity and was killed for it. bc Jezebel wore make-up before her death, christians associated wearing make-up with vice, with manipulation

now, symbolises promiscuity, sexual immorality, esp. “sexually promiscuous or controlling women”

parallels with old-fashioned ways to (negatively) describe queer people, especially queer men: ‘sexual inverts’, ‘sexual deviants’ etc. - living life differently and being condemned for it

-> deep female connotation here

“you sit high atop the kitchen counter”

“high”: under the influence of drugs / out of reach, away from others, observing

childlike - adds to feeling that it’s about a younger person

kitchen: home, at home, in a house - childhood/at other people’s homes

if she’s sitting on top of her own kitchen counter, it seems like she’s there without actually ‘working’ in the kitchen. not cooking or washing up, just daydreaming/watching/being: inverted stereotype of a woman in the kitchen

+ at home in the kitchen? just likes to be there, no matter what. queer: love for and attachment to things that aren’t traditionally associated with your assigned gender. harry’s love of cooking, being in the kitchen

“stay green a little while, you bring blue lights to dreams”

green - blue he just had to didn’t he: nod to the fandom, acknowledgment of people who see him (more) for who he is (x)

“stay green”: stay young, innocent - theme of growing up, changing

blue light: a thing that usually keeps you awake (if you’ve watched a screen before bed, f.e.) - half awake? daydreaming, dreaming...?

stay young, stay you, because you make dreams interesting/breathe life into dreams

for me, connection to ‘little green’ by joni mitchell: story about her daughter that she gave up for adoption - sweet, tender song for someone who you don’t really know, but you actually know on a deep, intuitive level, bc she’s part of you. lyrics about stars, the moon, blue eyes. a long, happy life. a bright future. harry’s reference to it symbolises (for me) how at this point in his life ‘little freak’ was someone who he only thought about, who he could only think about bc she was mostly unknown, but was still part of him. and no don’t come talk to me about this song then could also be seen from the pov of harry talking about/to a child he wishes for and how he would then treat her no no no don’t do it

a cut bc this shit is long okay! peace <3

“starry haze, crystal ball”

looking up, up at the stars - as if they contain the answers -> astrology, connection with the universe

“haze”: it’s unclear, a blur - can’t see the future, can’t see the bigger picture (yet)

crystal ball: trying to see the future. so desperate for answers when you’re younger (<-> “there’s things that we’ll never know” - fine line)

-> elements all throughout hs3 of astrology, psychic powers, ‘otherworldly’ techniques to look at the self/past/future - acceptance of deeply human way of looking at the world, opposed to cut-dry scientific approach (// following intuition, esp. about identity, gender,...)

‘little freak’ is sat high atop the counter -> she has a better overview, and he’s looking up at her, not yet fully realising she contains the answers

“somehow, you've become some paranoia; a wet dream just dangling”

“paranoia”: worried, panicked (seemingly) for no reason - think other ppl are judging

obsession, something always in the back of his mind

“a wet dream”: she’s a dream, but a very tempting one, and she’s right there, up for grabs. if he could only get over his fears - get atop the kitchen counter with her, dare to let go and go higher up

“but your gift is wasted on me”

he doesn’t dare to join her. her gift, which is who she is, her identity, was wasted on him. his own queerness, which is right there, and there for him, is ‘wasted’ bc he’s afraid of being judged, of being a freak

I was thinking about who you are Your delicate point of view I was thinking about you I'm not worried about where you are Who you will go home to I'm just thinking about you Just thinking about you

“thinking about who you are”: do you know who you are? - still full of wonder as to who this daydream is, this person in the back of his mind

“delicate point of view”: so soft, so gentle, about this ‘part’ of him - she’s sat up high, has the point of view of someone higher up, the overview. she holds the answers. “delicate” like the nuanced, intricate lives of (queer) people who fully accept their own complexities, own depths. also delicate like something that is fragile, something that can break if it were to jump off the kitchen counter

“i’m not worried about where you are” // i don’t know who/where she is - she

he’s telling us that she’s not an entity he’s jealous of, or who can leave, bc she’s him. she’ll always be there. - “i’m not worried”: comfort, peace, security

Did you dress up for Halloween? I spilled beer on your friend I'm not sorry A golf swing and a trampoline Maybe we'll do this again Tracksuit and a pony tail You hide the body all that yoga gave you Red wine and a ginger ale But you would make fun of me for sure

“halloween”:

childhood

gay holiday. when you can dress up as whatever you like, for many ppl a moment of liberation bc they can finally dress as themselves - they’re not wearing a costume. (so the answer to this question would even be “no”) // dorothrry

“i spilled beer on your friend”:

jealous or protective act - stay away from her

if it’s little freak’s friend, it’s a queer friend. “i’m not sorry” - spilling beer on someone as a way of attracting their attention in a clumsy, flirty, teenage way - attracting the other queer person’s attention. + “your friend” then means that the friend was drawn to her, his queerness, from the start

“a golf swing and a trampoline”:

calculated movement, strategic game. business meetings, grownup conversations, tactics <-> free, loose activity. childhood + jumping, trying to go high up in the air, trying to fly

“and”: i am this AND that

in the context of the beer spilling: talking to someone new (and queer) is a jump in the unknown as well as a well thought-out interaction, involving tactics as well as guts, and the urge to be free

“maybe we’ll do this again”: move for second date, part of convo with new friend / apprehensive, careful, shy, hopeful

“tracksuit and a pony tail”

again, (perceived, expected) opposites combined in one: tracksuit: streetwear, baggy clothing, masc. <-> ponytail: femme. put together, care for appearance. or: long hair, but it’s out of the way, not let down (yet)

“you hide the body all that yoga gave you”

wearing that tracksuit

hiding your body in your clothes: very gender

yoga: practice that connects your mind and body. controlled, balanced, calm // trying to find answers/identity in connections, in the bigger picture

“red wine and a ginger ale”:

alcohol and no alcohol - more balance in opposites

his drinks of choice? hers? his and the friend? hers and the friend?

red wine, earlier he spilled beer: red wine representing her? (brit. culture: Men drink Beer, Women drink Wine)

“but you would make fun of me for sure”: not in the context of all the opposites/balances, i think. more in the friend - spilled beer - do this again line. “maybe we’ll do this again?” “yeah, well, as long as you don’t spill beer on me next time!” stunted, dorky flirting. (remind you of something?)

entire verse symbolises how intertwined his (gender) identity and his interactions with others, especially in his love life, are. the traits he hasn’t properly learned how to balance yet, and his insecurities, coming into play when meeting new people, especially someone who has him all flustered

I disrespected you Jumped in feet first and I landed too hard A broken ankle Karma rules You never saw my birthmark

“i disrespected you”: i ignored you, i ignored an entire part of my identity

“jumped in” <-> high atop the kitchen counter. away from her, towards a standard, on the ground, ‘normal’, trying to be the norm, someone that isn’t him

“landed too hard”: tried too hard and it backfired, it hurt him

// if the truth tell, darling, you fell like there ain't enough dying stars in your sky - only the brave

“karma rules”: again, unseen powers that are at play in the universe, things humans don’t understand; secret structure to life. if you go against your intuition, what you know to be right in your heart

“birthmark”: you never saw me at my barest point, my most naked self. you never saw me be reborn, you didn’t live to see my queer birth

trauma changed him, made him lose her, the original ‘little freak’, who was soft and innocent. he still grew and changed, was (re)born, but now his queerness, his identity, is colored by that pain

SYNTHESIS

SOOOoooooOOOOOooo. It’s painful and it’s beautiful. Harry tends to do that with his most intimate songs. As you can see, I see this song entirely as one about gender and identity. When I first heard it, and I’d seen some posts about how it might be a love song for his s/o, I didn’t completely get it. I couldn’t get into that interpretation, it felt off to me. And then I read this post by @swimmingleo and it all clicked.

To me, Harry is speaking to a younger self. Someone he used to know very intimately, yet distantly. (Very ‘Little Green’-ish.) His younger queer self, that was always there, but he didn’t engage with yet. He looked up at her, in wonder, not yet realising that he should join her up there and finally see the world from her point of view. Finally see where so many answers lie. Delicate, because it’s so complicated and nuanced. It’s about a time in his life when he was still figuring out who he was, seeing all these ‘opposites’ that simultaneously held true within himself, that came together and were contained by him. Feeling the urge to fit in and choose. Which he did, choosing for the jump down instead of the climb up with her, resulting in a loss of self. There is loss in this song, but more than anything love of someone, in particular love of himself at a certain time of his life. Before puberty, before figuring shit out. A simple, tender love for your younger self.

I think this is a very universal feeling, but especially for queer people, to have a complex relationship with that younger self. During childhood, you were truly yourself, because it was before you understood what it was to control/suppress your impulses or feelings. Growing up, and going through puberty, can be insanely jarring and scary, especially if you stop feeling at ease in your own body. Social customs start dictating what you should like and look like, and sometimes you loose sight of who you really are, or sometimes you even intentionally hide. You start to feel disgusted by yourself, especially if it includes urges that deviate from the ‘norm’. It’s hard to feel tenderness for your (pre-)pubescent self, especially to muster up some understanding instead of harshness, concerning mistakes you made. Because of this younger childhood self that they so desperately wanted to stuff away to fit in. So, in this respect, Little Freak is a triumph. Of being patient, kind and tender to that self that fucked up, because they were figuring it out. Just like everyone else. It got you to where you are now, and made you who you are now, which is a complex, beautiful person. It’s also an homage to that queerness that was always there. That queerness that isn’t understood when you’re that young, but that you were also not afraid of yet. The one that slowly grows with you until you’re ready, when you stop being scared of it again.

In this album about home, love, change, childhood and identity, I think it makes the perfect centerpiece. It’s written from the point of view of someone with a deep acceptance of himself, someone who feels at one with who he was when he was a child, and sees how he evolved to who he is now. Someone complex and queer, who needed to get high up on that kitchen counter in order to see it all, and understands what it took for him to get there. It’s him reminiscing his childhood, his period of late blooming, and recognising, acknowledging, all of it in its complexities, which are only visible to him now. It’s a love song for the trans identity.

Little Freak and the Peculiar Boy, a one-person show.

#lyric analysis #little freak #my posts #okay well OKAY #i knew this one was going to be intense and YES INDEED IT WAS INTENSE #wow

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bobdylan-n-jonimitchell · 1 year

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Joni Mitchell “Little Green” Blue, June 22, 1971.

“The painter Claude Monet once said, “Color is my daylong obsession, joy, and torment.” One of my other favorite painters is Joni Mitchell, who also sings a little. The song “Little Green” is from her colorful album “Blue” in 1971. The song was written four years before that and it’s about the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption when she was a poor art student in Calgary. About eight years ago Joni had a tearful reunion with her daughter. Joni said, “I’ve had pain and joy in my life, but nothing like this—it’s an unparalleled emotional feeling.” Here’s the song she wrote for her daughter, “Little Green’”

[Little Green plays]

“That was Joni Mitchell on Theme Time Radio Hour, singing “Little Green—just a little green, like the color when the spring is born. There’ll be icicles and birthday clothes and sometimes, there’ll be sorrow...”

—Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour: Colors, February 28, 2007.

#Bob Dylan n Joni Mitchell #Bob Dylan #Theme Time Radio Hour #2007 #Quote #Influence & Interests #Joni Mitchell #Little Green #Blue #1971 #1970s #Youtube #Claude Monet #Reference

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decadent-hag · 1 month

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9, 11, 12, 35 for the vinyl asks 🕺🏻

9: the bulk of my record collection is actually my mom's that I basically just kind of....commandeered when I started collecting lmao. She doesn't mind though

11: my taste and thus my collection is pretty eclectic so I didn't think there'd be something super odd but I have the Pinocchio soundtrack on vinyl for some reason????? I don't even know why I have that lmao

12: I think I have a top 3 that I listen to more than the others, depending on my vibe/mood. Miles Davis Kind of Blue, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, or Joni Mitchell Hejira

35: no I'm not a huge autograph person and records are just too awkward for me to be lugging around. Also meeting artists who are important to me gives me hives 😂💀

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mackmp3 · 5 months

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Hiiii Mack do you have any music recs you’d like to share??? I started listening to Hozier recently (which is relevant I promise) and I saw that he’s inspired by Joni mitchell and like some other folk artists so I was wondering if you could give me some folk reccomendations!!! (Also any other genre hehe I’m a always up for exploring new genres hehe so just as much recs as you want!)

YES OMGGGGG

ok i don't know a lot about hozier BUT from what i've gathered he was inspired by a lot of black blues musicians, which i'm sure you can google and find some he's mentioned somewhere, but that's an Accquired Taste. there are older folk bands like the Weavers, and Woody Guthrie, but cos that music is so far removed from how music today is made it is also an accquired taste, the music below is probably a little easier to get into :D (i don't mean this in a mean way i promise i really hope it doesn't come across like that)

joni mitchell is AMAZINGGGG i love her, her most famous album is Blue, which is really really good, some of my favourite songs of hers are That Song About The Midway, River (the one i just covered hehe), the Arrangment, This Flight Tonight, and also Court & Spark and Night Ride Home are some of my favourite albums of her's but they're not reallllllly folk. joni is amazing she plays guiatr in all these interesting tunings and also is a brilliant piano player :D (most of her songs aren't on spotify anymore but it's all on youtube, also cds hehe)

JOAN BAEZ oughhh joannnn she's more traditional folk music, her first self titled album she did when she was NINETEEN and it's really good, she has an amazing almost operatic voice, she didn't write as much of her own stuff but her version of old folk songs are usually some of the best versions, silver dagger, wildwood flower, love is just a four letter word and farewell angelina are some of my favourites - the last two are covers of bob dylan songs

bob dylan is arguably the most influential musician Ever and i'm not kidding, BUT he kind of only got famous cos Joan baez brought him on tour with her which is a Whole Thing (there's a lot of lore) - he has lots of famous songs but kind of only did folk music for like. a decade. sort of. it depends. but the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan 1963 is one of my favourites, also Blonde on Blonde is sort of not quite folk anymore and is really long, but Sad Eyed-Lady of the Lowlands is a brilliant song oughhh.

nick drake!!! he has this one album Pink Moon which is So Beautiful i need to listen to it again actually, he is another amazing guitar player who uses alternate tunings, his stuff is just oughhh so pretty.

simon and garfunkel! scarbourough fair and feelin groovy are nice songs hehe, for more pop-oriented folk, teh mamas and teh papas are good (california dreamin' band)

these are just some of my favourites, they're all from the early 1960s-early 1970s which was when a lot of the best folk music recordings were done, i used to be Really Into this music and i'm still very fond of a lot of it hehe <3

hope this is of some use! :D

#thank you so so so much for the ask!!!!!!#ajshnakjsna folk musiccccccccc #thanks lin <3 #hnnnrg listening to joan baez now oughh i missed her

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commsroom · 2 years

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okay, so. eiffel likes music. i like to make lists about eiffel. i wanted to make a list of (at least most of) the songs/bands he references, particularly the ones he directly says he likes. there aren't really a whole lot of surprising revelations here, but if you would also like an overview of eiffel's music taste, well. here it is.

- ep 2: "... while humming 'mercedes benz' by the immortal janis joplin!"

- ep 4: "everything's gimme shelter out here." ↳ song by the rolling stones

- ep 6: "unless you leave out 'anarchy in the UK', that would be mathematically unsound." ↳ song by the sex pistols

- ep 9: "riders on the storm, man. riders on the storm." ↳ song by the doors

- ep 11: "ground control to major tom, is your circuit dead, there's something wrong. here i am, floating in a tin can..." ↳ space oddity, song by david bowie

- ep 20: MINKOWSKI: “because you are you and he is he and i am me and we are all together. / EIFFEL: “goo goo g'joob?” ↳ i am the walrus, song by the beatles

- ep 27: “yo, copernicus! look out the window and smell the joni mitchell” ↳ referencing her album, blue

- ep 27: “yeah, yeah, we’re tangled up in blue. we get the picture.” ↳ song by bob dylan

- ep 30: “i’ve got my entire mental john williams discography to get through.” ↳ well, if there was going to be a composer eiffel really liked, i guess that would be the one. does suggest he has a good ear/memory for music, though.

- ep 37, 42, 61: “and let us analyze the real slim shady without a dozen french horns in the way.” / “which slim shady is the living, breathing, human version of your friend!” / “in the immortal words of slim shady: guess who’s back!” ↳ what can i even say about this. three times. i guess these songs are enough of a recognizable pop culture thing to be arguably distinct from the rest of eminem’s music, but like. three times.

- ep 47: “FOR YOU TO GET TOGETHER AND FEEL ALL RIGHT.” ↳ one love, song by bob marley. referenced by the dear listeners, but they got it from eiffel.

- ep 49: “because it’s like radiohead says: you do it to yourself, and that’s what really hurts.” ↳ lyrics from ‘just’

- ep 54: “all along the watchtower, princes kept the view, while wild women came and went, barefoot servants too” ↳ originally written by bob dylan, but the jimi hendrix version is the one most people will think of first

- ep 54: “in the immortal words of marvin gaye: let’s get it on!”

- ep 54: “you gotta check out some of the latest advancements. otis redding. zeppelin. taylor. sir mix-a-lot. i think he’s been doing some of the best scientific work of the last fifty years.” ↳ i would like to be able to give you an alternative explanation. i would like to be able to be like, well, clearly he means singer-songwriter james taylor. he means guitarist mick taylor. he doesn’t. he means taylor swift. you can feel free to suggest another artist who it would make sense to only call ‘taylor’ in this context, but first keep in mind he’s a millennial in a show written by millennials and the writers do, in fact, listen to taylor swift. i’m resigned to it.

- ep 61: pryce mentions “the first two queen albums” as an item in eiffel’s memory

he also agrees with hera that “yeah, this is nice” about the transmission in bach to the future, but doesn’t recognize the piece. further confirmed by a little night music that eiffel’s familiarity with classical music is ‘yeah, i’ve heard this somewhere’ at best. he can’t name any of it.

of the songs and artists listed here, the ones that he is directly saying he likes and/or doesn’t have some clear contextual reason to reference are: ‘mercedes benz’ (and janis joplin in general), ‘anarchy in the uk’, john williams, ‘all along the watchtower’, otis redding, led zeppelin, taylor (swift? i guess?), sir mix-a-lot.

that said, i think you can safely assume he likes pretty much all of these things. they occupy some space in his mind, anyway. so what conclusions can you draw from that? uhh. well. he mostly likes classic rock? he’s a guy who still listens to the radio? he has, all things considered, incredibly normal taste?

none of that is really news, but there you go.

#wolf 359 #w359 #doug eiffel #there are a few things i thought about and chose to leave out because #they felt too indirect redundant or like more like references to other types of media #but this is all under a cut so if i missed something i can add it in #and i think you can make some easy extrapolations based on this #but i don't want to do that or bring in outside information. for the purposes of this post.#i do have a playlist of exclusively classic rock songs i think eiffel would like though. i've thought about this a lot.#he's sooo normal... i want him so bad.#ALSO i love to play mercedes benz for people who haven't heard it because i feel like more than once that has like #somehow reshaped their image of eiffel a little bit. and it's wonderful to me.#i love that he likes janis joplin and joni mitchell in particular i can forgive all of his more questionable choices for those.#also ALSO. wolf like me doug eiffel official playlist. can't miss an opportunity to bring that up again.

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wolfstargazer · 4 months

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✨When you get this ask you have to put 5 songs you listen to, post it, then send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positive vibes are cool)🎶

I was also sent this by @picklerab23. Thanks :)

It is so difficult to choose five but I will give you five songs from my Moony Moods playlist, which is full of songs I think Remus loves:

Song to the Siren - Tim Buckley

Rose Hip November - Vashti Bunyan

Blue - Joni Mitchell

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield

L'Amour Looks Something Like You - Kate Bush

#mauraders #the marauders #marauders era #remus lupin #dead gay wizards #remus lupin headcanon #wolfstargazer headcanon #wolfstargazer wonderings #remus music headcanons #theres more where these came from

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dollarbin · 6 months

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Dollar Bin #26:

Bob Dylan's Bringing it All Back Home

Ah, the initially alarming, deeply flawed, but ultimately classic, transition album:

Neil Young started his deep dive into the ditch with Time Fades Away's bungling fever; Tom Petty crept off the plantation in search of SoCal zombies and skateboards with the hodgepodge airplane crash of Let Me Up; Joni Mitchell jumped off her increasingly precious clouds and instead fed us mysterious brownies, terrifying electric piano trance music and street corner clarinet; Paul Simon abandoned Artie on their graceful bridge and dove straight into the troubled water he'd formerly avoided at all costs, determined to reunite Mother and Child; Ringo and his clever lads joyfully totaled their quaint and geriatric tour bus so as to embrace rampaging chaos.

Each of these artists would have made their fans happy by staying the course. The public wanted endless choruses of All Together Now from each of them. After all, no one ever wants to see their hero just do it in the road.

But thank god they all swerved into the ditch, transitioning through straight up weird songs like L.A., Duncan, Woodstock and All Mixed Up to new, previously undreamt heights with Tired Eyes, American Tune, Blue and Free Fallin'. Thank God Paul McCartney shrieked about monkey sex long enough to give us Hey Jude.

Like most concepts in the Dollar Bin, Bob Dylan charted the seemingly reckless course for each of these vital transitions. And so let's talk about Bob's own transitional mess/masterpiece of a fifth record, Bringing it All Back Home.

It's of course tempting to think of the record in terms of Sides A and B: Like the 66 tour that followed, Bob makes an electric declaration alongside a conciliatory acoustic compromise.

But I think that assessment is all wrong, or at least too elementary (for the tour and the album). Rather, I think Bringing it All Back Home has four different, mingled song sets to consider: there are a) two tossed off novelty songs, b) three hastily recorded future masterpieces, c) three sprawling problems, and d) two songs that are total filler.

Add a fifth category: there's also one - and only one - full success on Bringing It All Back Home. That's right, it's one of my favorite albums of all time and yet I think there is only one song on the record that Bob did right the first time:

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Despite the popular imagination there are plenty of Dylan tracks which feature great singing. At least once a decade Dylan reminds us that he's capable of nailing a melody alongside surprising and perfect phrasing.

Want a handy, 70 year long, left field list from off the top of my head? I'm happy to provide!

60's Moonshiner

70's Knocking on Heaven's Door

80's Blind Willie McTell

90's Lone Pilgrim

00's Nettie Moore

10's Long and Wasted Years

20's Key West

Dylan sings She Belongs to Me with similar elegance and personality, yes? The song is built on repetition and yet nothing seems to occur more than once. He tells us twice that his lady friend is an artist, he bows down to her twice and describes her firm footwork, you got it, twice, but he does so in such different fashions, stretching the second phrase in the second line of each verse just so, like a tableau vivant that has obviously changed - but how? - while you were blinking.

Indeed I've always thought of She Belongs To Me as the musical version of the album's cover, the most staged and ambitious of Dylan's career. Albert Grossman's impossibly elegant wife, the piles of rick rack and the precious kitty cat in Dylan's lap: like the song's title itself, none of these things actually appear in Dylan's perfectly paced, intimate and stately song. But every detail seems borrowed from the song's missing verses.

(It's too bad a literalist approach was taken for the Basement Tapes cover. I'd prefer images from the absent songs rather than the drunken tea party dress up vibe that was chosen. Dylan, at least, seems to understand this: while everyone else mugs for the camera he flips his stringed object 90 degrees and dreams about the door...)

Dylan of course opened his 66 tour each night with She Belongs to Me, and all the versions are successful. But none of them touch the arrangement from the album track: Bruce Langhorne's swaying, gurgling lead guitar, the unobtrusive but burgeoning drums: everything waltzes along perfectly together and insists that Bob keep up. And keep up he does, still finding chances to linger without ever getting sleepy. It makes for lovely, lovely music: perfect from the beginning.

But most of all we think of Bringing It All Back Home as an introduction to masterpieces that Bob, and everyone else, has been wrestling with ever since. Dylan recorded the whole album in 3 days so it's no wonder that songs like It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Love Minus Zero/No Limit, and Mr Tambourine Man are so complex that we're still getting to the bottom of them.

I'm not going to spend much time on Mr Tambourine Man here; check out the Dollar Bin (#6?) on Judy Collins' Fifth Record. Suffice it to say that Dylan's first version is great, but is obviously not the master take in that there were at least two competing versions that same year that were just as good.

But let's linger over Love Minus Zero/No Limit. It's one of my all time favorites, period. I have no real idea what Dylan is trying to tell us but the poetry never fails to knock me out. Consider the third verse, which echoes Proofrock's yearning, anticipates Get Smart and makes touchstones out of everything from chess to Daniel's prophesies about Nebuchadnezzar's faulty artistic future. This is Dylan and his most obtusely wonderful:

The cloak and dagger dangles, Madams light the candles. In ceremonies of the horsemen, Even the pawn must hold a grudge. Statues made of match sticks, Crumble into one another, My love winks, she does not bother, She knows too much to argue or to judge.

And yet the album's dense arrangement simply does not understand the song's greatness. The same backing players who both corralled and gave Bob space on She Belongs To Me here force Dylan to rush through his thoughts and linger over nothing; we don't need complexity behind such lyrics and the melody: works of art always look better without gilded frames.

Dylan knew as much; he knew he couldn't hope to contain the song's multitudes on first attempt so he gave up after two series of rushed attempts over two days. But on The Other Side of the Mirror, recorded the following summer at the Newport Folk Festival, we see him come much, much closer, as the wind howls like a hammer no less, to unveiling the song's full greatness.

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I'll make a nerd club comment quickly, however, about Bringing It All Back Home's mono mix. I grew up listening to this record on an 80's era CD that made everything sound like it had been recorded in Dylan's private vomitorium. Listening this morning to my more recently purchased, but almost 60 year old, mono record, I wondered if the album track is way better than I claim here.

When it comes to others trying to touch Dylan's own interpretration of the masterpiece I usually groan (when Eric Clapton tried to play it at Bob Fest, I, listening live on some barely-there FM station, almost shouted my famous farmer buddy Ned, who was driving his dad's ancient suburban, off a very windy mountain road. Thanks for not letting us die Ned!).

The best cover of Love Minus Zero that I know of is hardly a cover at all. Witness the Go-Betweens sneaking it in to their song Clouds (no, not that song Clouds; this is one of their own with that title):

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But even so, I'm sticking to my guns: Love Minus Zero is best unadorned and sung by Bob.

The album's other lyrical masterpiece, It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, has an even richer history and an even more questionable start. I can understand, wholeheartedly, while Dylan felt done after the album's eventual take was in the can. The swirling, melodic bass alone makes the track worthy of inclusion on this, or any other, record. Dylan adds impassioned vocals and sensitive harmonica; it all comes together into a marvelous flotilla of music.

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But the song still includes a straight-up, gasp-worthy, mistake. Check out the third verse, second line. According to Bob himself, the lyric is, and always has been, "all your reindeer armies, they're all going home". Following up on Bob's seasick sailors rowing home, this is a bizarre and perfect lyric for a bizarre and perfect song.

But Dylan sings nothing of the sort. Instead we get something that sounds like "your empty handed army-ers are going home." That's not the same thing Bob! Indeed it sounds like you were so into this take 1/2 way in that you blew it, then shrugged and went out to kick it with Nico or something. Dude, Bob, give us another take!

He did of course. Like She Belongs to Me, he made the song a centerpiece of his 66 tour, usually nailing it. And many others have given us earnest versions of their own, from Them's Beck-worthy cover to the obligatory Byrd's version, and so on.

But this entire post was inspired by Chan Marshall's just released take of Baby Blue. If you haven't heard all of the Cat Power re-creation of Dylan's Judas concert, get your act together, stop reading this and do so right now.

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Why, oh why, doesn't Dylan tour and record his next album right now with Chan and Fionna Apple sharing the vocals with him? You know both women are game, and I guarantee you both of them would remember it's reindeer we're talking about here, not armyers.

Okay, that covers the initially tossed off classics-to-be. Let's talk about the problem songs: It's Alright Ma and Gates of Eden. There's a lot to be said in favor of these songs. They both feature dense writing with bumper-sticker-ready tag lines. "Even the President of the United Sates Sometime Has to Stand Naked" and "The Savage Soldier Just Sticks His Head In Sand and Then Complains" are a bit wordy but there's plenty of room on the back of my 08 Honda Civic Hybrid. I'm ready to make people tailgate me and squint.

But Dylan delivers both numbers as dirges. Frankly I have to take a deep breath to get through them back to back. Listening is like doing your homework, and, while I'm a pretty good teacher, I'm a lousy student. Thus, they are problem songs.

But Dylan figured out one of them, It's Alright Ma, in a big way in 74 while on tour with The Band. He belts it out in frantic double time, creating the perfect Watergate Era protest song. Obtuse and direct, vague and fierce:

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I was negative 2 years old at that point but I swear I heard Dylan's holler in utero, beckoning me to join the argument here on Earth. I'm happy to have answered the call, and I hope I never see Trump naked. But jail would be sweet...

As far as I know, Gates of Eden has never been similarly salvaged but I'd argue it's ready for resuscitation. Bob's dense Adam and Eve tale is just sitting around 60 years later, waiting for someone other than Bob to finally give it some life. Check out the lyrics to the second verse; there's plenty worth wrestling with here:

The lamppost stands with folded arms, its iron claws attached To curbs 'neath holes where babies wail, though it shadows metal badge All and all can only fall with a crashing but meaningless blow No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden

I don't know how a lamppost can shadow a metal badge under wailing toddlers, but the whole thing freaks me out in good ways. I wish Leonard Cohen had given Phil Specter the boot and sung this with Bob instead of Don't Go Home With Your Hard-On.

The third of the problem songs is problematic in an entirely different sense. Yes, I know that Maggie's Farm is historically important because Bob used it to help create punk rock in 65 by lighting up Newport's speakers and driving Pete Seeger into an axe-wielding rage, but the song has basically no melody and is, to my ears, pretty dull. Name me a good version. Dare you! Meanwhile, I ain't gonna talk about this song no more.

I'm afraid to say that the remaining two categories, Bringing It All Back Home's novelty songs and its filler, are less rich pastures for us to dwell in, but let's visit anyway, shall we?

First of all, I'm here to tell you that one of Bob Dylan's masterpieces, Subterranean Homesick Blues, is nothing more than a novelty song. By that I mean it's a gimmick: awesome once and then never worth redoing by anyone, ever again. I've never heard a Dylan live version of any kind - he knows better - and I dare even my famous brother to produce a quality cover. (And if he plays me the Red Hot Chili Peppers' take I will declare him no longer famous.)

Simply put, I think the song is a fantastic and spontaneous piece of wit that would go stale the moment it is ever retold. Do I like the song and its sweet one liners? Sure! I dare say I have even taken a fair bit of Bob's advice to heart over the years. No one's ever caught me hanging around an inkwell, that's for damn sure. But I never want to hear the song in any other context beyond the opening two minutes of this record or in the poster flinging alleyway bit.

Thankfully Bob feels the same way. Can you imagine a Budokan version, slowed down to a reggae beat and chanted with the ladies while Dickicus Maximus on the sax shows off his swaggering mass? Or imagine a Jesus phase rewrite accompanied by auto-harps entitled Jesus is the Answer Blues (Christ's in his Heaven's, mixing up the punishments; I'm on the pavement thinking about the rapture..), or a Neverending Tour take wherein no one other than Bob, including the band, even knows the song is happening (must be Cat's in the Well?) until Bob suddenly tells everyone to light themselves a candle, at which point everyone goes from stupefied to frantic because they failed to hit record on their smuggled-in iPhones.

Instead of covers or remakes we're left with a long line of other novelty songs in the same vein. We're talking End of the World As We Know It, about 1/4 of every great song in Elvis Costello's catalog from Pump it Up to Beyond Belief and, I'm so sorry because now it's stuck in your head, We Didn't Start the Fire.

Dylan knew his 115th Dream was a one-off joke from the get go, and so he added the hilarity from the first of its only two attempts onto the intro for the record. I never miss a chance to grin at the nonsense Bob and Captain A-Rab get into, but this song is not on any best of lists and, like Subterranean Homesick Blues, has thankfully never been attempted by anyone since.

Curiously, it's also the last "Bob Dylan's Dream" song we ever got from Dylan. I guess there are really only two of them, but I think of the two I Shall Be Frees and Talking World War Three Blues as additional members of the genre. Now don't get me wrong, I love Series of Dreams as much as any other Bobhead, but images of running and climbing are no substitute for another song from Dylan's ridiculous dream journal about harpoons and Bob being reminded that he is not Christ.

That leaves us with the filler: On the Road Again and Outlaw Blues are exactly that. Had he written them, Stephen Stills would proudly place these songs on his Greatest Hits package; they are that bad.

Dylan's made more than just this one transition record, of course. John Wesley Harding... Street Legal... World Gone Wrong... Maybe all his records are transitions!

Just imagine us ten years and three new Dylan albums from now. Bob is a spry 92 and has just added a cheap-enough-for-me lager to his whiskey line. And, at long last, he has invited me over to the bobpad as my famous brother's plus one; that's right: after years of rejecting interview appeals from even the AARP, the Bobster finally wants to talk, and my bro's more than earned the gig. Our plan for the evening is to quiz Bob about how he transitioned into yet another masterful phase way back during Rough and Rowdy Ways.

Now that's a dream I'd like to hear him sing about.

#Youtube #bob dylan #neil young #joni mitchell #paul simon #stephen stills still sucks

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jonismitchell · 1 year

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hey arden i was just wondering if you could give me like your best joni mitchell recs for someone who's not very familiar with her music 👀 (hope you're well btw)

hi! i used to have a joni mitchell primer playlist on spotify (pre her removing her songs from the website in 2022 and breaking my heart). the idea of this playlist was to give the listener an idea of who she was as a songwriter and highlight some of her best work, skewed towards my personal favourites.

here are the songs from that playlist: both sides now (original), i had a king, river, for the roses, blue, coyote, a case of you, the circle game, help me, big yellow taxi, blue motel room, trouble child, woman of heart and mind, hejira, for free, and both sides now (live from the miles of aisles album, which imo shows how impressive she is as a vocalist)

that list is also skewed towards songs you might be familiar with already (river, a case of you, both sides now, big yellow taxi... usually people know one of these!)

if you're like me and prefer album recommendations to get into an artist, you literally cannot go wrong with blue (it is the best album of all time), and after that, i'd definitely recommend ladies of the canyon, court and spark, for the roses, and hejira. in that order, if you can help it—hejira is a magical body of work and one of my favourites, but unless you are already a fan of ten minute songs and folk music it's not a great starting point.

i had another playlist that provides a broader introduction to joni mitchell by providing songs from every album of hers in chronological order, so you could also consider checking out some of these titles!

#thegarlicbreads #seeing all those songs greyed out :(#but also sorry this is so long i just. love her x #asking with you #joni mitchell

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userparamore · 10 months

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for the ask game 📚 !!!

hi rey <3 already answered this one but i’ll give you another!

📚 a song or album you could write a term paper on:

probably for the roses by joni mitchell. it’s my favorite album of hers. it’s very underrated in my opinion but it came out at a very interesting time in her career. it’s the first album where she’s shifting away from her famous folk sound and introducing more rhythm and new instruments. her lyrics are also very interesting and very tied to nature. she decided to quit music after blue and retreated back to canada. you hear her reflecting on her career but also how healing her time in canada must’ve been. yes, blue is a very personal album. but i think for the roses are even more exposed, but it’s not as obvious on the first listen.

#ask game #ask #userbaby

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baezdylan · 8 months

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Hi! :D

For the 5 albums thingie:

Blue by Joni Mitchell

Abbey Road

All things must pass

Kid A

Low

ALL A+++++ ALBUMS YOU'RE AMAZING!!!! which is why i'm gonna do this impulsively without checking the tracklist obsessively in hope that i regret less this way fhdkrkrk

blue:

this flight tonight

all i want

a case of you

california

the last time i saw richard

abbey road:

here comes the sun

i want you (she's so heavy)

she came in through the bathroom window

you never give me your money

maxwell's silver hammer

all things must pass (superior solo beatle project, i said what i said. not saying it because of bob. well not JUST because of bob. george is also my mom's favourite beatle so.)

APPLE SCRUFFS

if not for you (do i like this better than the dylan track? welllllll)

art of dying

let it down (+ ORIGINAL GUITAR AND VOCAL, just wow.....)

what is life (i quite enjoy the baking track too <3)

kid A:

MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

in limbo

idioteque/morning bell (ik i'm cheating, but they cannot be separated)

optimistic

how to dissappear completely

low (NOTHING like a bowie instrumental...):

SUBTERRANEANS

always crashing in the same car

a new career in a new town

breaking glass

art decade

send me an album and i’ll say my top 5 favorite songs from it!

#this was soooo fun you are incredible <333 #ask game #💌restless wind inside a letter box💌

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cassieuncaged · 1 year

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Grave Bound - Chapter 16

Chapter 15

Summary: Maggie learns to live with a broken heart.

TW: angst, heartache, arguments, language, etc.

WC: 2.5 K

A/N: This chapter has a happy ending, promise. Also, only two more chapters to go!

Taglist:@roofgeese, @detectivelokis, @areyenotfondofmelobster, @poisonedtruth, @confidentandgood, @emotionalcadaver, @chadillacboseman

How long had she sobbed for? It felt like a century when Maggie had to finally peel herself from her bed. Hardly leaving the comfort of a cozy apartment, the woman listened to Joni Mitchell’s Blue on repeat. Maddy nuzzled against bare ankles as she sat despondently at the kitchen table. Life no longer felt serendipitous but unpredictable and terrifying.

Days bled together as the reminder she was alone slowly cemented into an injured heart. Attempts at contact were futile. The phone rang for an eternity before the line was disconnected. Elias stopped coming into the shop and his name had been removed from the buzzer outside of his building. It felt like he was a phantom that had dissipated into the night. She wanted to hold onto him against her, never letting go.

Love was elusive, difficult to uncover and practically impossible to keep. It was eternally fleeting.

Tears were long dried as another morning was prepared for. Oatmeal was picked at before a cold shower brought a droning body back to life. She felt like a corpse, ignoring the dull beat of her own heart. Wallowing continued as nurses whites were slipped on, followed by sneakers.

Blue eyes met a dejected reflection, saddened only by what she saw even further. Shoulders slumped before the daily drudge to the bus stop began.

……

“That son of a bitch,” Sharon smoked angrily a cigarette, brassy locks piled atop her head. Abby and Maura played with the cat as Maggie curled herself into the corner of the sofa.

“Son of a bitch,” the eldest of the two girls parroted.

“Only mommy gets to say that,” Shar warned, ash crumbling into a glass ashtray. “Jimmy’s beside himself too. We never would’ve set up the date if I knew what a sleaze the man was.”

“Elias isn’t a sleaze,” Maggie mumbled, eyes unfocused on the Barbie dolls that lay forgotten on the floor. “He had his reasons, I suppose.”

“But he didn’t give you any.” Her sister chided, pointing at the note that still sat on the coffee table. “The man even said he was running away with his tail between his legs.”

“He was scared,” Maggie reasoned, hugging her knees, “Elias didn’t want to hurt me. That was never the plan.”

“And yet…” the older woman was as wise as she was angry. Sharon believed no one deserved love and happiness more than her little sister. Yet, Maggie seemed destined to be alone. “Look, we’ll find you someone better. Someone who won’t-”

“Leave me in the middle of the night?” Maggie finished before sliding to the floor. Distracting the girls from an agitated Maddy, the cat was freed. She brushed the matted red hair of a Midge doll before handing it to Maura.

“She looks like you.” The girl pointed to the freckles dappling her aunt’s face, holding up the doll.

“I suppose she does,” Maggie grinned as tears glistened in blue eyes.

“You’re prettier,” the girl sat the doll down as her sister chewed on Barbie’s hand. Maura crawled onto her knees, wiping away the stray tears that sprinkled down ruddy cheeks. “Pretty girls don’t cry…”

“Sometimes they do,” Maggie sniffled, turning away. The little girl sat back on her knees, watching as the woman crumbled in on herself. Everything she’d held inside was finally seeping through the cracks.

“Is this because of Uncle Elias?” a head of auburn curls cocked to the side, “Because he’s gone?”

“Maura.” Sharon warned, urging the eldest to play with the infant currently slobbering on dolls. Sliding down on the floor next to Maggie, she drew the younger woman into one shoulder. Now the sobbing was uninhibited, tears staining a knit sweater. “It’ll get better. Every day is a chance to start over.”

Ginger curls bounced in agreement as the crying began to ebb. An uneasy silence washed over the room as a tree branch scratched the windows in the breeze. The phone began to ring in a cacophonous ardor.

“I’ll get it,” Sharon attempted to get up before a soft yet firm hand was pulling her back down.

“It’s alright, I can answer the phone.” Crawling to the far end of the sofa, the receiver was pulled to the lush rug as it toppled apart. Grappling for the yellow plastic, she suppressed her sobs before answering. “Hello?”

“I’m hopin’ I have the right number.” There was a familiar warmth on the other line, followed by a wholesome chuckle, “This a little slice of strawberry shortcake I got or did the operator fuck up?”

“King?” her voice cracked, happy to have found another friend. “Is that you?”

“Maggie May, the love of my life. I was afraid I wouldn’t get a hold of you.” He sighed; there was disembodied humming in the background. She hoped it was Diana. “How’s the big city, baby?”

“I’m from a big city,” she added flatly, “This is just the bigger city. I used to love it. Unfortunately, it’s gotten lonely lately.”

“That’s why I called,” there was another belabored sigh, “Your loverboy made a terrible mistake.”

“Is he alright?” she was suddenly frantic, worried that Elias had met the gruesome fate Sharon had angrily wished upon him. “Do you know where he is?”

“That son of a bitch is fine, don’t worry. He’s outside of Milwaukee. Muskego, Wisconsin. Ever heard of it?”

“Can’t say I have. The farthest west I’ve ever gotten was Cincinnati.” Maggie shrugged, trying to ignore the three sets of eyes on her back.

“Which is impressive considering how far east you made it.” There was another chuckle. “We opened a shop down on the west side of Lake Michigan. But good ole Elias hasn’t been himself. Can’t help but think you’re not feeling too much like yourself either.”

“I’ve been better…”

“Thought as much. I know you probably hate my man’s guts but-”

“I miss him.” She added somberly, “Do you know why he left me?”

“I do but it doesn’t make anymore sense than a bad riddle.” There was a long pause, “What would it take to get your pretty little self to visit him?”

“You mentioned, years ago that Diana made an angel food cake that tasted like heaven itself…”

“Drive a hard bargain.” She could practically feel his smile through the receiver, “Let me get you his address. This’ll be the best surprise the man’s ever gotten. He needs you, Maggie. Damn it, we all do.”

……

Elias flipped through the pages of Little Women, a well-loved copy Maggie had gifted him one morning over breakfast. There’d been no occasion other than the fact that it was her favorite story. He loved her ability to make everything special, even if it had been an ordinary Saturday morning.

Words blurred together as eyes unfocused on the same paragraph for the fifth time. It was hard to relax, to find any peace when his mind was elsewhere. Propping the book on his chest, he rubbed his eyes silently. Major yawned from the carpet.

Suddenly, cone shaped ears were alert. Slats on the porch groaned, proceeding the tentative knock at the door. The intrusion earned a sharp bark as the dog darted towards the sound, pawing at the paint chipped door.

“Calm down, buddy.” Elias was lazily pulling himself to his feet, trudging to push the creature out of the way. Prying the door open practically knocked all the air from his lungs. A ghost stood shivering in the brisk night. “Maggie…”

“Hi.” Ginger curls fluttered in the dim porchlight, a threadbare suitcase sat at her feet. Major yipped excitedly, circling the woman before zooming inside in a flash. “Hope you don’t mind a visitor?”

“Not at all.” He stuttered, flattening himself against the wall. She shuffled into the little hovel, awkwardly taking it in as Elias fetched the miniscule luggage. The living room was cozy, packed with oversized furniture, she was surprised how sparsely it was decorated. “How did you…”

“King called me.” The confession was admitted shyly as Maggie shrugged her coat off.

“Of course he did…” Taking a moment, he leaned against the archway as he basked in the woman’s presence. “What exactly did King say? That I was losing it?”

“That you weren’t yourself. You’re hair, it’s shorter.” she took a tentative seat on of the edge of the sofa. “Looks like it did years ago.”

“Decided to look clean and polished as a business owner. Well, co-owner.” Tendrils of hair fell in his brow as shy grin stretched across his face.

“I like it.” She gingerly studied the back of her old book sitting on the neighboring cushion, flipping open the front cover to find her note jotted on the inside. “My favorite. You’re reading it.”

“Reminds me of you.” Elias remained standing long after the door had been shut and bolted. Each hand was propped on jean clad hips. Major, unaware of any uneasiness, trotted over to sit at Maggie’s feet. “Suppose that’s why I kept it.”

“You missed me?” she arched a brow suspiciously.

“Missed you when I left.” He chuckled darkly, a heat rising up his cheeks.

“Then-” sitting upright from her perch, Maggie could feel a tightening at the center of her chest. She craved the answers he’d failed to give.

“Don’t. Please, don’t do this to me.” One hand pushed through thick locks.

“Don’t do this to you?” Pupils dilated in the lowlight, eyes wide with incredulity. “You left me in the middle of the night, Elias. Without an explanation. I deserve to know why. Even if it hurts.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Maggie.” Hands were shoved into pockets as the man padded across to an armchair.

“Too late.” She chided blearily, voice crackling as tears dripped down the curve of her nose. “It would have hurt less if you jammed a knife through my carotid.”

“Mags…” he warned, feeling sorrowful fingers of rage seep into his brain. Why open old wounds? Of course, he knew she deserved that much. But he wasn’t ready to relive the burgeoning grief again. “I was scared, alright?”

“Of me?” her heart rattled against her ribs. Had she driven him away? Was this her fault?

“God, no.” he sighed, rubbing at his eyes; anything to quell the moisture. “You’re my everything. But there was this part of mind convinced that you’d never be completely happy with me.”

“What if you’re the reason I was happy?” she bartered desperately, considering pulling him into her arms. But Maggie deigned to stay strong, if only for a second.

“Maggie, I’m a mechanic. You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman: you deserve better. Someone that can give you everything.” A long finger rubbed at one temple.

“I’m a nurse.” She countered, “It’s not like I crave a luxurious life you can’t provide. I’d never expect that.”

“People change their minds.” Elias sighed, feeling bile creeping up his throat; why was he trying to sabotage himself?

“Don’t you dare decide my future for me. I’m not a child.” The woman spat, “I know what’s best for me.”

“You’d get bored, don’t worry.”

“What about everything we shared? What about everything back in Vietnam? The future we dreamt of?”

“That was different.” He added dryly, a mixture of rage and grief simmering in his chest.

“How?” she was desperate now, trying to find any point of reason.

“We were at war!” he roared, frustrated and incensed. “Sometimes words are just words to get you through another day. I didn’t think I’d actually get a chance to have a life with you.”

“Everything you said in Hawaii was all a…a lie?” Holding back a sob, the woman hugged herself. Did their time together mean absolutely nothing?

“No,” he sat on the edge of the chair, elbows rested on either knee. His own eyes began to glisten, soul shattering as he continued to push the love of his life away. She didn’t deserve this, to be berated and hurt even further yet. “It meant the entire world. I just-”

“This was a terrible idea.” Shaking hands wiped at blotchy eyes. Struggling to get her coat back on, a tearstained face shook sadly as Maggie ambled up to her feet. “I should go.”

“You didn’t drive.” He was on his on feet in an instant scampering after her as the front door was reached. Maggie pulled at the forlorn suitcase as the door was opened. Elias pushed the door closed.

He couldn’t lose her again.

“I’ll get a cab.” She turned around, realizing he was a foot away from her. It gave her a moment to study him. Tears had fallen down sharp cheek bones, trail sparkling from bloodshot eyes to the top of wide lips. She’d been sobbing so hard she hadn’t noticed he’d been doing the same.

“A cab? At ten o clock in rural Wisconsin?” He snorted, wiping at his nose.

“The city isn’t that far away; I’ll hitch.” Bloodshot eyes dropped shyly, studying slatted hardwood floor.

“Over my dead body.” Their eyes met in a heavy silence before a weathered palm was sliding over a soft cheek. “I’m sorry, about everything. Leaving you was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

She reached up to wipe another tear away, grinning blearily before pressing her lips to his. Colliding like a meteor to earth, Elias allowed himself to devour her as he’d craved for so long. Soft as suede and sweet as sugar, he allowed himself to drown.

Maggie’s coat was pushed away as they grappled at each other. Small fists knotted in the collar of a flannel shirt as his own hands drifted to the small of sweater sheathed back. Slowly leading the way back into the meager dwelling, his mouth dropped hotly to a hard jawbone.

“Please,” she whimpered as his lips left a fiery trail of kisses down the column of a creamy throat, “Promise you’ll never leave me again.”

“Oh, Mags…” he murmured against her, slowly rising to meet her gaze once more. “I promise.”

Then he was guiding her into the bedroom, hand soft against his own. All he could imagine was making up for lost time as the door was pushed close with a thud.

……

Bodies latticed in moonlight, Maggie sighed contently as Elias brought his lips down each wrung of her spine before working his way back up to a head of wild curls. Her back was pressed to a solid chest, both draped in a sheet. Mouth resting on the curve of one freckled shoulder, a weathered hand slowly glided down a bare arm before enveloping the small hand laying limply on the mattress.

“I don’t deserve this.” he sighed into the crook of her neck.

“It’s not about what we deserve,” Maggie added sagely, eyes fixated on the heavy hanging moon. “It’s about how we feel. And I’ve always known how I’ve felt about you.”

“Tell me,” Elias pried, needing to hear the answer. Maggie grinned brightly over one shoulder, eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “Please.”

“I’ve always loved you.”

“Bullshit,” he grinned before burying his face in strawberry waves. She watched him for a moment, comfortable and at peace.

“It’s true, my sweet soldier.” Her voice was hardly a whisper, only to be met by another.

“Love you too, wild child.”

#fanfiction #otp fanfiction #otp: dog tags and flower crowns #maggie x elias #platoon 1986 #grave bound

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