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black-metallic · 6 years

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A History of King Crimson

King Crimson is one of the most important bands to come out of the initial wave of progressive rock bands between the late 60’s and early 70’s, being extremely influential to a plethora of different bands and genres as a whole. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, being released in 1969, was one of the first progressive rock albums, and probably the most influential early album in the genre. The release of the band’s fifth album, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, would see them incorporate elements into their music that would later be used by progressive and experimental metal bands in the 80’s and beyond. Discipline, the band’s eighth album, which took considerable influence from the burgeoning post punk and new wave genres, albeit twisted to characteristically King Crimson standards to the point of sounding like an early math rock album, inspired that genre. The band’s 11th album, THRAK, saw them returning to a style similar to that found on Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, but with a distinct modern flavor that incorporated influences from the very progressive metal bands they inspired, and helped point the way forward for those bands, as well as for newer bands, in turn.

King Crimson’s music can, in fact, be broken up into four distinct periods, one from 1969 to 1972 that saw them play in a symphonic prog/jazz fusion cross style, another from 1973 to 1974 that saw them play in a more eclectic, proto-metal inspired jazz fusion style, another from 1981 to 1984 that saw them play in a more crossover prog, new wave inspired post-progressive style, and one final one from 1994 to 2004 that saw them play in a more modern progressive metal/jazz fusion cross style. The band was also active between 2007 and 2009 and has been active again since 2013, but have not released an album since 2003, and hence these eras can only be judged by the songs they have chosen to play live, which, for the most part, are taken from all their respective music eras. However, even when split up into periods, King Crimson’s music still shows rather heavy between those sections. This is especially true of their first era, and, to a lesser extent, their second era. Hence, in writing a history of the band, it is prudent to go album-by-album. Nevertheless, splitting the band’s music into those four periods is a good way to understand their basic progression.

What became known as King Crimson started out as the band Giles, Giles, and Fripp in 1967, who wrote what can best be described as eccentric pop songs, or songs with a pop structure that incorporated idiosyncratic elements like complex instrumentation and off kilter mood changes. The band was composed of vocalist and bassist Peter Giles, vocalist and drummer Michael Giles, and guitarist Robert Fripp. However, the band never became successful with this format, and started to look for additional musicians to fill out their sound. After the addition of keyboardist and woodwind player Ian McDonald, lyricist Peter Sinfield, and vocalist and bassist Greg Lake, who filled Peter Giles’s role in the band after his departure, the band morphed into King Crimson in late 1968.

After rehearsing a bit, the newly restructured band made their live debut at the famous The Stones in the Park concert (a free concert headlined by The Rolling Stones) at Hyde Park in London in July 1969 to a crowd of around 500,000 people. This catapulted their standing rather highly and allowed their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King which was released just three months later, to receive so much attention. However, after the release of that album and some subsequent touring, the band started to fracture, losing McDonald, Lake (who went on to form Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), and Michael Giles, with the former two not working on their next album and the latter departing right after. Their roles were filled by Mel Collins, Gordon Haskell, and Andy McCulloch respectively. Unfortunately, the instability continued, with the latter two leaving after the release of King Crimson’s third album. They were replaced by Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace respectively. A fourth album was released with this lineup, but, after a short tour for the album, the band more or less disintegrated due to musical differences between Robert Fripp and the rest of the band.

Now, while it was the popularity heights the band were at when In the Court of the Crimson King was released that allowed the album to have the potential to be so influential, being spread all over the contemporary music scene, it was still the innovativeness of the music that caused it to be that way. One important element to the album is the eclectic-ness of the mood, from the chaotic, energetic opener 21st Century Schizoid Man, to the pastoral, tranquil I Talk to the Wind, to the hauntingly beautiful Epitaph, to the ethereal, dreamy Moonchild, to grand, stately closer title track. Another is the varied instrumentation (especially considering the album is not a folk album), particularly in the use of woodwind instruments like flutes and clarinets and non-standard keyboards like Mellotrons and harpsichords, which were both still rather new in rock music at the time. And then of course there’s the fact that each track is at least six minutes long, with the longest being over 12, each with obviously non-standard structures and musical evolutions. The album, in more ways than one, pointed the way forward for progressive rock as a genre and also solidified its popularity among many people.

The previously mentioned internal volatility manifested itself in the band’s later first era music. Their second album, In the Wake of Poseidon, is similar in style to that of their debut, but is more muddled and scattered. The diverse moods and eclectic instrumentation are still present, and the album features three long songs, but the music doesn’t mesh quite as well, with less of a focus on musical cohesiveness and a few clunky transitions. Not only that, but the album feels like the band is treading over old ground somewhat, with several rather apparent song parallels that can be drawn between it and In the Court of the Crimson King, namely Pictures of a City to 21st Century Schizoid Man, Cadence and Cascade to I Talk to the Wind, In the Wake of Poseidon to Epitaph, and The Devil’s Triangle to Moonchild (from a level-of-experimentation perspective and not a mood one). However, since that sound is still so fresh and innovative, it doesn’t come across as too forced or hackneyed, and the music is still as great as that on the debut album.

Now, their next album, Lizard, did represent a true step forward for the band. On it, the jazz fusion sounds are much more prominent, at the expense of the more symphonic elements, being present for significant portions of every song except for the short, gentle tune Lady of the Dancing Water. They accomplished this through the addition of four guest musicians to play additional jazz instruments, which had, in the past, been confined to the saxophone alone, namely the electric piano, English horn, cornet, and trombone. It also features King Crimson’s first (and only, not counting the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic song cycle as one song) epic song, Lizard, which is over 23 minutes long and takes up the whole second side of the LP, but which also feels like an epic, telling the events of a day during which a tremendous battle takes place.

The final album of King Crimson’s first period, Islands, is another oddball. While it is varied in mood like their first two albums are, it is also diverse in musical feel too. The first four tracks are, at their core, jazz fusion style tracks, but are each rather different from each other. Formentera Lady has prominent symphonic elements, Sailor’s Tale is dissonant and chaotic, even by King Crimson’s standards, The Letters sounds like an outtake from Lizard, and Ladies of the Road has the trappings of a raunchy pop song. The final three tracks, however, are basically contemporary chamber music, and a bit more connected to each other. Prelude: Song of the Gulls is basically just a chamber music piece, Islands is a bit more instrumentally diverse and features vocals, and Untitled is like a classical instrument tuning recording. This drastic split is rather hard to digest when listening to the album as a whole compared to most other King Crimson albums, but the variation in the songs inside the two sections are nice to hear, and the songs themselves are all rather good.

Even though Fripp was the only member of the band for a short period, it was not technically broken up, and, after that period, he went about recruiting four new musicians, namely John Wetton on bass and vocals, Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir on drums and percussion, and David Cross on strings and keyboards, with Fripp continuing to play his role of guitarist and keyboardist as well. However, this lineup didn’t last long either, with Muir leaving shortly after the release of this new era’s first album and Cross leaving shortly after the second, until the band officially dissolved entirely shortly after the release of the third album, not even two years after the band was reassembled.

The release of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic thus heralded a new direction for the band. The symphonic elements disappeared, replaced by Eastern European classical music flourishes and free improvisation style music, giving the band’s music a very different, but still significantly experimental sound. The inclusion of the violin and the continued use of various keyboard instruments kept the jazz fusion moods somewhat intact, but the presence of that sound was greatly diminished. Finally, the band was, on average, heavier than they were before, with hard rock style riffs present on several songs, albeit played in a very off kilter way. This was also the album that the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic song cycle started, with both of the first two parts present on this album, including the most famous part, part two, which features the classic highly experimental hard rock style most prevalent on this album. Easy Money is another notable song in this style, whereas Exiles is an equally important, but much softer song driven by peaceful violin and ethereal lead guitar. Overall, Larks’ Tongues in Aspic was a fantastic debut of King Crimson’s reformed sound and a strong vindication for them to continue in this new direction.

Their follow-up, Starless and Bible Black, focused, at least in part, on shorter songs, as well as made jazz fusion prominent in the band’s music again, although not nearly to the same degree as they did in the first era. The first six tracks on the album are all under six minutes long and average around four. While still characteristically King Crimson, especially instrumentally, these songs had more pop like structures than were usual for the band and are even rather catchy at times. The final two tracks, however, are roughly ten minutes a piece, and are much more in the free-form experimental rock style the band was being known for after the release of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. Fracture is another classic that’s only slightly below the level of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two, and are in fact in a rather similar style (although Fracture is less structured and slightly more experimental). Like In the Wake of Poseidon, Starless and Bible Black continued with many of the stylistic elements of its predecessor. However, unlike that album, it went about it in a fresher, more focused way, although there was some duality present between the two sides of the album.

Dissimilar to how King Crimson ended their first era, their second era concluded with a very strong album, Red, an album that is in fact regarded as one of the best King Crimson albums alongside In the Court of the Crimson King and Larks’ Tongues in Aspic. Even Kurt Cobain of all people said that he was greatly inspired by the album. The two most important stylistic developments that occurred on this album were the heavier, more depressing atmosphere and the even greater reliance on jazz fusion sounds, practically putting them on an equal level to that found on their late first era albums. The metal like sounds found on their previous two albums remain, but, instead of being driven entirely by fast-paced, abrasive guitar, an additional dark tonal element is present, giving the album an even heavier sound. Starless, the closing track, encapsulates not only the whole album, but acts as a requiem of sorts, meandering through previous iterations of the band’s sound, being the last song people ever heard before the band broke up for seven years. It remains both one of the band’s most popular and most critically acclaimed songs and is a very crushingly powerful track.

After Robert Fripp broke up the band, he took a bit of a hiatus from music altogether, before reentering the art a couple of years later, dabbling in several projects like a solo career, several collaborations, and a stint in a different band. Eventually, he decided to form his own rock group. He recruited former King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford, vocalist and guitarist Adrian Belew, and bassist Tony Levin, but originally had no plans of calling the band a reforming of King Crimson. However, after rehearsals and a tour, the group eventually decided to indeed call themselves King Crimson. Nevertheless, even though the band remained consistent in personnel and was enjoying a decent amount of popularity, after only three years and three albums, Robert Fripp again decided to dissolve the band, citing general dissatisfaction for a second time.

The first album that came from this era was Discipline. More so than any other album had in the past, Discipline represented a drastic change in the band’s sound. Instead of being a band whose sound was built on a split between symphonic prog and jazz fusion with heavy doses of experimentation and eclectic instrumentation, now, their sound was much tighter, revolving around more modern sounds like post-punk and new wave, as well as more exotic influences like Indonesian textures and African polyrhythms. Both the instrumentation and song lengths were reined in, but the propensity for copious experimentation remained. This structure combination ended up giving the record a sort of math rock vibe. In fact, a number of the songs, the title track especially, feature odd, frequently changing time signatures, which would become the central facet of the math rock genre in time. The band even managed to achieve a unique guitar playing style for the time on this album. Overall, Discipline was one of the best albums, if not the best, to come from a classic progressive rock band entering the 1980’s, completely revamping their sound to meld with more contemporaneous music, but in a way that kept their original progressiveness more than intact.

Like In the Wake of Poseidon before it, Beat is rather similar to its predecessor, but there are some noticeable differences both between it and Discipline and with the analogy itself. For one thing, whereas In the Wake of Poseidon was a record that tried to recapture the sound of its very popular antecedent in the midst of a fracturing band, Beat was more of a purposeful refinement of its forerunner that had a much more stable band lineup situation. In fact, Beat was the first King Crimson album to have an identical lineup to the one that came before it. Musically, the album is considerably poppier than Discipline, especially in the first half. This represented greater excursions into Belew’s more accessible influences, being a member of the much poppier Talking Heads before joining King Crimson. However, tracks like Neurotica and Requiem still harkened back to the generally harsher, more atonal style of Discipline.

The final album of this era, Three of a Perfect Pair, was another follow up album to Discipline, at least in a sense. However, its level of experimental-ness fell between that of Discipline and Beat, with the first half being Belew-written pop tracks and the second half being near completely instrumental Discipline-style tracks, with one of the songs even being the third part of the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic song cycle. Consequently, there was not much new in the album’s sound. But, given how interesting and original the band’s music still was, it was still full of great moments. And this repetition just now being a problem for the band was really only due to the fact that this represented the first time the band had a truly stable lineup, which stayed the same across three whole albums, plus the fact that Robert Fripp had reformed the band with an express musical purpose.

After a six-year hiatus, Belew met with Fripp to discuss reforming the band. Over the next four years, Fripp recruited four additional people, including Levin and Bruford, as well as two new musicians, Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto. This formed what would be referred to as the “double trio” of two guitarists, two bassists, and two drummers, with the intention of continuing to be, at its core, King Crimson, but with an increased ability to push outside the previously defined instrumental limits. This was the beginning lineup of the fourth and final era of the part studio band. The band managed to release one album with this lineup. However, before an attempt at a follow-up was made, Bruford left to work on straighter jazz-oriented projects and Levin left due to mounting session and touring commitments outside of King Crimson. This reduced lineup continued for the third album, but, afterwards, Gunn left to work on solo projects and was replaced by Levin, who was free to work with the band again. However, only one year after this further lineup change, the band broke up again, mostly due to cited stagnation.

Like each other era’s debut album, THRAK represented a reinvigorated, more modern iteration of King Crimson that still held true to the core aspects of the band’s sound. On the more experimental side, the album took influence from ambient electronic music (which partially came from Fripp’s continued work in guitar soundscapes), as well as the burgeoning industrial and alternative scenes, whereas, on the more classic side, the album called back to the double lead guitar sounds of the third era and the metallic feel of the second era. However, given the sheer number of musical elements present here, unlike their second and third era work, the album’s songs were a bit more disjointed from each other, with different influences being prominent on different songs. But, with the dedicated way the band went about stringing together all those different musical strands, this fact didn’t cause the album to feel broken so much as cohesively eclectic. Overall, the album represented yet another triumph for King Crimson in keeping a classic progressive rock band alive, both modernizing themselves and staying at least somewhat true to the band’s original intentions, all under the banner of ever present experimentation.

The second album of this era, The ConstruKction of Light, which, uncharacteristically, took five years to compose (the longest amount of time between two intra-era albums had previously been two years), was again another album similar in style to that of its corresponding era’s debut. The main difference was that, in most areas, the music was even more complex and dissonant than THRAK, with the industrial and electronic sounds being even more prominent and harsh. Another notable difference was that the tempos were often slower, especially compared to those their 80’s songs had, with the interlocking guitar parts even being played in hocket as opposed to being played with distinct melodies. Nevertheless, critics found it to mostly be a rehashing of that album, a type of criticism King Crimson had managed to avoid with all its previous follow-up albums. On top of the lack of variation from THRAK, the album even featured the fourth part of the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic song cycle, as well as the song FraKctured, which took clear inspiration from their previous song Fracture. Nevertheless, while the album was indeed inspired more by its predecessor than albums in the past had been, the sound is still unique and innovative enough that the music is still interesting to listen to.

This era’s final album, and indeed the final King Crimson album ever to be released, The Power to Believe, while still another follow-up type album to THRAK, represented more a perfection of the style King Crimson had been working towards for this entire era. The heavier parts had more power behind them, yet the album also had much improved sonic dynamics, with soft, peaceful moments being sizably more prevalent on this album. It often took the sounds of contemporary metal bands and twisted them in a way that, while still recognizable, were also decidedly King Crimson in style, all in a very natural way. The album features the fifth and final part of the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic song cycle with the uncharacteristically named Level Five (the other four parts were all titled “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic”, along with the attached part number). Overall, while not the strongest album in the band’s discography, it was an amazing and forward-thinking album for the band to end their studio work on.

Now, while The Power to Believe was the King Crimson’s last studio album, the band continued, and, to this day, still continue to tour. The band reformed again in 2007 with the lineup Fripp, Belew, Levin, and Mastelotto, along with a new second drummer Gavin Harrison. The band broke up again in 2009 for several reasons, mainly because Fripp wanted to take another break from King Crimson (this break was always meant to be temporary). It reformed yet again in 2013 with the lineup Fripp, Levin, Mastelotto, Harrison, and Mel Collins (who had not been a member of the band since 1972), along with guitarist and vocalist Jakko Jakszyk and third drummer and keyboardist Bill Rieflin. Rieflin was absent for 2016, his role being replaced by Jeremy Stacey. Rieflin returned in 2017, but it was decided that Stacey would stay and that Rieflin’s role would be amended to that of keyboardist alone. So, currently, the band has two guitarists, a bassist, three drummers, three keyboardists (including Fripp and Stacey), and a woodwind player, for a total of eight members.

Looking back over King Crimson’s entire career, it’s clear why the band has been so influential not just to progressive rock, but to many other strands of music as well. Over all its iterations and eras, the band has consistently released, amazing, groundbreaking music that even pushed their own boundaries ever forward. They helped progressive rock build a foundation for itself and then continued to build on top of that. And they’ve done similar work with several other types of experimental music. Not only have they inspired countless bands in the past, they continue to do so to up-and-coming bands of many different styles. King Crimson are truly one of the most understated influences in music today.

#king crimson #progressive rock #progressive metal #prog #rock #metal #music review #my article

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guitarsandviolins · 6 years

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Guitars and Violins Chapter 10

Chapter 10: On the Road/Disaster strikes (Or so they think)

This Chapter contain smut. Warning

(Disclaimer! I own nothing of Korra!)

Korra was asleep on the bed and the phone rang.

She picked it up.

“Hello?” asked Korra, “You’ve reached the house of the guitarist of the Tone Benders.”

“Korra, turn the TV on right now!” said Bolin, “You’ll wanna see this!”

“What is it?” asked Korra.

“They’re announcing the winners!” said Mako.

“WHAT?!” she asked.

She quickly got up and turned the TV on.

There were announcers talking about the winners of the Blue Moon festival.

They were going through a long list of bands that were able to play.

“And the last two bands that will play at this show…..” said the male announcer, “Are the Tone Benders!”

Korra cheered loud same with Bolin and the others.

“And… Berzerk!” said the announcer.

Korra was surprised.

“Wait a minute what the hell?!” she said.

Kuvira was drinking with her band as a celebration of getting in.

“This is it guys,” said Kuvira, “Our first step to rockstardom.

Asami was practicing her scales on the violin.

Korra ran up to her.

“Hey Korra wha….” Said Asami.

Korra interrupted her with a kiss.

“What was that for?” asked Asami as she smiled and blushed.

“I won the contest,” said Korra, “We’re performing at the Blue Moon Fest!”

“I’m so happy for you,” said Asami, “And actually, Professor Cowan wanted me to talk to you.”

“What about?” asked Korra.

“Well they’re doing a cover of 21st century schizoid man, but their guitarist cancelled and he’s in need of a new one,” said Asami, “I recommended you.”

Korra kissed her again.

“Thanks ‘Sami,” said Korra.

Kuvira was meeting with Professor Cowan.

“So that’s my story,” he said, “That song we’re doing could use a guitar player.”

“And you want me to let you use my guitarist?” asked Kuvira.

“Exactly,” said Cowan.

Kuvira thought for a moment.

“You got a deal,” said Kuvira, “On one condition.”

“What’s that?” asked Cowan.

“I have some trouble trying to rid myself of a…. rodent,” said Kuvira, “She’s interfering with my dreams of stardom.”

“Would this rodent happen to be Korra?” asked Cowan.

“Lucky guess,” said Kuvira.

“Then how can I be of service?” asked Cowan.

“So I hear you’re doing a cover of 21st century schizoid man,” said Kuvira, “Don’t allow Korra to play guitar for you. That’s why I’m letting you use Desna to play for you.”

She gave him some cash.

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Professor Cowan.

A few minutes later Korra was sitting in listening to the orchestra’s cover of the song.

“Alright,” said Korra, “This seems doable.”

“Alright, orchestra dismissed,” said Professor Cowan.

He handed Korra a lead sheet.

“Varrick says you know how to perform on that instrument and can sight read anything right?” he asked.

“Correct,” said Korra.

“Well, as it so happens, I ran into another guitarist,” said Cowan.

Desna peeked his head through.

“Am I late?” he asked.

“Perfect timing,” said Cowan, “I gave him a sheet earlier, and now I just wanna give you both a crack at it.”

Korra plugged into her amp and started playing.

She was doing well, but she slipped up and Cowan stopped her.

“Not quite right,” said Cowan, “Desna?”

Desna plugged in and played a phrase perfectly.

“Excellent!” said Cowan

“Wha….” Said Korra.

“This is the beauty of orchestra and live bands together,” said Cowan, “Who knows, if you keep this up, you might be the next big star.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” asked Korra, “This shit?”

Cowan’s phone rang.

“Excuse me,” he said as he went into his office.

Desna turned to Korra.

“Looks like you’ve got some competition,” said Desna as he grinned.

Korra went into Cowan’s office.

“Look I just slipped up one time, but I can play it right,” said Korra.

“Now is not the time,” said Cowan.

“Look…..” said Korra.

“I SAID NOT NOW!” he shouted, “If you want the fucking part, then earn it.”

Korra stepped outside.

She was having lunch with Asami.

“Looks like he’s trying to steal your thunder,” said Asami, “But I know you’ll earn that part.”

“Thanks Asami,” said Korra, “I just can’t believe I screwed up on that part.”

“Accidents happen Korra,” said Asami, “Even to the best of musicians.”

“True,” said Korra.

Asami thought of something.

“You still have that lead sheet for that song?” asked Asami.

“I do,” said Korra, “Why’s that?”

Asami kissed Korra’s forehead.

“You’ll see,” she said smiling.

Korra was doing some drills to train herself on 21st century schizoid man.

She finished and then looked at Asami.

“Alright,” said Asami, “You’re doing well on the speed, now we just need to work on the clarity.”

“What do you mean?” asked Korra.

“While you are good at speeding up on certain tough sections, the notes need to be heard and not so scratchy,” said Asami, “Observe.”

Asami played a riff on her electric guitar.

“Whoa,” said Korra.

“Its not a tough task,” said Asami, “Its just about where and how you fret your fingers.”

“Ok,” said Korra.

She tried the phrase again making sure each note she played was clear.

“Yeah!” said Asami, “There you go.”

“I really appreciate you doing this,” said Korra, “I really wanna show Kuvira’s guitarist who really rocks it.”

“Anything to help my girlfriend,” said Asami.

Korra smiled.

Mako and the gang were setting up for rehearsal.

“Where’s Korra?” asked Bolin.

“She said she was gonna be late,” said Thano, “Said she had some things going on.”

There was a knock on the door.

“Looks like she got done fast,” said Mako.

He opened the door and it was Desna.

“What’s he doing here?” asked Bolin.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like there’s something going on with your guitar player,” said Desna.

“What do you mean?” asked Bolin.

Desna grinned.

Korra and Asami were heading to the rehearsal space.

Mako, and Bolin were looking at her.

“Korra we gotta talk,” said Mako.

“What’s going on?” asked Korra.

“Its Desna,” said Tahno, “He’s been making up this rumour that you’re leaving us to make your own band.”

“He what?” asked Korra.

“I didn’t believe it for a minute,” said Bolin, “But we just gotta make sure of it.”

“No way, I love performing with you guys,” said Korra.

“Honestly, I thought you were gonna ask her to spend less time with me,” said Asami.

“What, no!” said Mako, “We’d never do that.”

“Good,” said Asami.

“So you got a plan leader?” asked Korra.

“A great one,” said Tahno, “Pretend that the band is breaking up, and then when it gets to the big show we’ll surprise them.”

“With the rumour out, the other band thinks they’ll be able to take it easy and perform lazily,” said Mako, “And when they least expect it, BAM!”

He slammed his bass case down.

“We rock their socks off,” said Bolin.

Korra grinned and said, “Great. So that means we’ll have to find another rehearsal spot.”

“I got that covered,” said Asami.

They wer soon rehearsing at a space in Asami’s mansion.

Buddy Holly by Weezer

Tahno: What's with these homies, dissing my girl? Why do they gotta front? What did we ever do to these guys That made them so violent? Woo-hoo, but you know I'm yours Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine Woo-hoo, and that's for all time Oo-ee-oo I look just like Buddy Holly Oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care bout that Don't you ever fear, I'm always near I know that you need help Your tongue is twisted, your eyes are slit You need a guardian Woo-hoo, and you know I'm yours Woo-hoo, and I know you're mine Woo-hoo, and that's for all time Oo-ee-oo I look just like Buddy Holly Oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care bout that I don't care bout that Bang, bang a knock on the door Another big bang and you're down on the floor Oh no! What do we do? Don't look now but I lost my shoe I can't run and I can't kick What's a matter babe are you feeling sick? what's a matter, what's a matter, what's a matter you? What's a matter babe, are you feeling blue? oh-oh! And that's for all time And that's for all time Oo-ee-oo I look just like Buddy Holly Oh-oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore I don't care what they say about us anyway I don't care bout that I don't care bout that I don't care bout that I don't care bout that

“Yeah, my parents were super rich, and now I inherit their money,” said Asami.

“That’s amazing Asami,” said Korra.

“Not as amazing as you sound on that guitar,” said Asami.

Korra smiled.

Later that evening Korra and Asami were up on top of the mansion.

“I really had fun hanging at your pad,” said Korra.

“I’m glad you did,” said Asami.

She was thinking about something that Opal said to her earlier.

In the flashback, Opal was teaching Asami an ecchi move.

“Something that could really turn Korra on is something like this,” said Opal.

She got closer to Asami and their nipples started to rub while she held on to her shoulders.

“W-what’s happening?” asked Asami.

“Its called a nipple rub,” said Opal, “You rub two nipples against each other until one of you has an orgasm.”

She continued to run their nipples together.

After a few minutes Opal started to moan with pleasure.

She then had an orgasm.

“Whoever orgasms first loses the game,” said Opal.

“That felt surprisingly good,” said Asami.

Opal grinned.

“You should try that with Korra,” she said.

Asami then looked at Korra.

“Korra…..” said Asami.

“Yea ‘Sami?” asked Korra.

“I’m horny,” she said.

She pinned Korra to a wall.

Korra was surprised.

Asami then placed her hands under her shirt and started to unhook Korra’s bra and take it off her.

“Sami?” asked Korra.

She then took her own bra off.

“Just relax,” said Asami as she grinned, “And leave your body to me.”

Asami pressed her breasts against Korra’s and they started to rub.

Inside, Korra’s mind was going wild.

She managed to let out a soft moan.

Asami continued to rub them together and started kissing Korra.

“Sami, that…. Feels so good,” said Kora.

“I know,” said Asami.

Korra was reaching her hands out to touch Asami, but she quickly stopped her.

“I didn’t say you could touch me,” said Asami as she pinned them down.

Asami rubbed her boobs on Korra’s and she started to moan a little louder.

Korra felt something and had an orgasm, and her panties were soaking wet.

“Sami…” Korra said.

“Yes?” asked Asami with a devilish grin.

“You’re turning me on,” said Korra.

She turned the tables on Asami and kissed her neck.

The two of them started kissing as Korra felt Asami’s ass.

Korra picked Asami up and carried her into the room as they continued to kiss.

She then removed her tie.

“I’m gonna make you beg for more,” said Korra.

She started playing with Asami’s nipples.

Asami moaned with excitement.

“Why are you always focusing on my nipples?” asked Asami.

“That’s because they’re your horny switch,” said Korra.

She pulled Asami’s shirt open revealing her white perky globes.

“You have such a hot bod,” said Korra.

“So do you,” said Asami, “I wish I had a chest like yours.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Korra.

She sucked on her nipples and Asami moaned louder.

Asami pulled Korra closer and kissed her ear.

“You’re horny, you know that,” said Korra.

“Yes I do,” said Asami.

Korra flicked Asami’s nipples with her tongue and Asami had an orgasm.

“We’re even,” said Korra.

Later, the two of them were in the bed.

Asami snuggled with Korra .

“Dating you was the best thing to ever happen in my life,” said Asami.

“Mine too,” said Korra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oirtBNejdr0

#korrasami #guitars and violins #korrasami smut #korrasami lemon #korrasamimusicianau #the legend of korra #korra #asami #Asami Sato

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aleatoryalarmalligator · 6 years

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3 Songs you Really Like..

if you are reading this, most likely you have been asked (sometimes multiple times on different accounts if you are the possessor of more than one), about three favorite songs. I think about 20-30% of users chose not to respond, but unless i recently added you, or you recently added me in the last week (and a few of you even here were not so lucky) you probably got this message. I just wanted to explain that this list of songs is insanely long. It’s like fifty pages or so of songs on my word program, so i am not going to post it online in this way as i told some people i was going to, or thought myself that i might at one time. I don’t even know if tumblr would allow me to do that, and it just seems a little crazy. I might break it down somewhat into sections. I mean, since on my computer i have it alphabetized. I started listening to the songs, and i might post my assessment of each artist/band and the songs i heard by them, but if anyone has any creative ways they think i should break down this list to publish on tumblr, feel free to let me know. I will say that from what i can tell, the most popular musicians were...

Amy Winehouse

Ariel Pink

Bauhaus

Beach House

The Beatles

Billie Holiday

Bjork

Black Sabbath

Bob Dylan

Chelsea Wolfe

The Clash

Cocteau Twins

Coil

Crystal Castles

The Cure

David Bowie

Death Grips

Depeche Mode

The Doors

Ella Fitzgerald

Fabrizio De Andre

Fleetwood Mac

Frank Ocean

Frank Sinatra

Gorillaz

Grimes

Hole

Iggy Pop

Jimi Hendrix

Joanna Newsom

John Maus

Johnny Cash

Joni Mitchell

Joy Division

Kate Bush

Kendrick Lamar

The Kinks

Lana Del Rey

Led Zeppelin

Leonard Cohen

Lou Reed

Massive Attack

Mazzy Star

Melanie Martinez

Miles Davis

The Misfits

Modest Mouse

Morrissey

My Bloody Valentine

The National

Neil Young

Neutral Milk Hotel

New Order

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Nick Drake

Nicole Dollanganger

Nina Simone

Nine Inch Nails

Nirvana

of Montreal

PJ Harvey

Pink Floyd

Pixies

Placebo

Prince

Queen

Queens of the Stone Age

Radiohead

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Rolling Stones

Sade

Simon & Garfunkel

Siouxsie & the Banshees

Slowdive

Smashing Pumpkins

The Smiths

Sonic Youth

St. Vincent

Steely Dan

Stereolab

Sufjan Stevens

Swans

Talking Heads

Tame Impala

Tom Waits

Tool

Toto

Townes Van Zandt

Vashti Bunyan

The Velvet Underground

Ween

The White Stripes

Willow

Wire

And the most popular songs were ....

A-ha – Take On Me

The Animals – House of the Rising Son

Aphex Twin – Fingerbib

Ariel Pink – Another Weekend

Ariel Pink – Baby

Bauhaus – All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

The Beach Boys – God Only Knows

The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows

Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit

Black Sabbath – War Pigs

Blue Oyster Cult – Don't Fear the Reaper

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind

Boy Harsher – Pain

Can – Vitamin C

Cocteau Twins – Beatrix

The Cure – A Forest

The Cure – Just Like Heaven

Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time

David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes

David Bowie – Five Years

David Bowie – Heroes

David Bowie – Life On Mars

David Bowie – Moonage Daydream

David Bowie – Rock n' Roll Suicide

David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World

Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence

Devendra Banhart – Rats

Dolly Parton – Jolene

The Doors – Riders On the Storm

The Doors – The End

Duran Duran – The Chauffeur

Fleetwood Mac – Rhiannon

Frank Ocean – Self Control

Funkadelic – Can't You Get to That

Glass Animals – Toes

Have a Nice Life – Bloodhail

Iggy Pop – The Passenger

Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit

Jimi Hendrix – All Along the Watchtower

Joanna Newsom – Good Intentions Paving Company

Johnny Cash – Hurt

Joy Division – Atmosphere

Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart

Kali Uchis – Tyrant

Kanye West – Runaway

Kate Bush – Cloudbusting

Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill

Kate Bush – Suspended in Gaffa

Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights

Kero Kero Bonito – Flamingo

King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man

The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset

Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven

Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat

Leonard Cohen – Suzanne

Lou Reed – Perfect Day

Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You

My Bloody Valentine – Cupid Come

Neil Young – Harvest Moon

New Order – Ceremony

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Into My Arms

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Opium Tea

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Nicole Dollenganger – You're So Cool

Nine Inch Nails – Closer

Nirvana – You Know You're Right

Pink Floyd – Brain Damage

Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb

Pink Floyd – Echoes

Pink Floyd – Shine On Your Crazy Diamonds

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Pixies – Where Is My Mind

Q Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Queen – Dragon Attack

Radiohead – Reckoner

The Rolling Stones – Paint it Black

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For the Devil

Rosie & the Originals – Angel Baby

Roy Orbison – In Dreams

SZA – Drew Barrymore

Sade – It's a Crime

Santo & Johnny – Sleepwalk

Shannon & the Clams – I Will Miss the Jasmine

Simon & Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair

Siouxsie & the Banshees – Spellbound

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now?

The Smiths – I Know It's Over

The Smiths – This Charming Man

Sonic Youth – Kool Thing

The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored

Suburban Lawns – Janitor

Talking Heads – This Must Be the Place

Tame Impala – The Less I Know the Better

Television – Marquee Moon

Tool – The Pot

Toto – Africa

The Velvet Underground – Heroin

The Velvet Underground – I'll Be Your Mirror

The Velvet Underground – Sister Ray

The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs

Vince Staples – Norf

Why? - Gemini (Birthday Song)

William Onyeabor – Fantastic Man

Willow – Wait a Minute

Anyway i will probably start listening to these songs alphabetically, and i maybe assess how i liked or felt about each one. Thank you to anyone and everyone who participated. I tried to answer everyone, but some messages got buried. I also ended up talking about various other things with people, and that was also kind of interesting.

#text

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bradleyhartsell · 5 years

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Legacy, Endure

Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010 (11th of Top 100)

For a long time, it was easy to pass off Kanye West’s antics and outbursts as the bubbling excess of his genius. I would argue to his critics that you aren’t grabbing a beer with the guy—you’re just appreciating his art. It seemed myopic the people who couldn’t separate his public persona from liking his songs, even though Kanye was leading a new kind of British Invasion to the world, with hip-hop the new millennium’s standard bearer for pop music.

But 2018 happened and it’s become deflating to his supporters. Yes, Kanye’s not hurt anybody and historians 50 years from now know might merely note now as an extension of his broadcasting the word soup of ‘Ye philosophizing. MAGA ‘Ye is his worst look, to the point that it’s worth wondering if the public’s backlash against this iteration of his informed the tepid response to Ye. Nine months later, it seems that, no, it just sounds like a 23-minute rush job thin on hooks and low on insight (outside of “I Thought About Killing You”). Even in regards to his incoherent support for Donald Trump and “slavery was a choice,” it seems like the biggest blow to the Kanye Institution is simply that his music stopped being important.

Listening to his 2010 magnum opus isn’t quite the elixir to wash away all the mess he made of the 2018. In some ways, listening is more like salt in the wound, leaving one wondering what happened to you, Kanye? In other ways, however, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is prescient of Kanye’s inevitable downfall (and possible return). It’s a paradoxical document of swollen maximalism, equally delusional and self-aware, both slighted and complicit. He saw this coming—the 21st-Century-schizoid man citing his “beautiful death”—it just took him 8 years to finally “[jump] out the window.”

MBDTF is best thought of as a modern day Gatsby party, with Very Important People dressed to the nines, guzzling champagne and cocktails. “Dark Fantasy” welcomes us with a sunny, reaffirming West Coast beat and braggadocios Kanye (“‘You ain’t got no fuckin’ Yeezy in your Serato?’”) before opening up its anthemic hook: “Can we get much higher?” He sneaks in a line, however, that hints at cracks in the façade: “Sorry for the night demons that still visit me.” Armed with distorted psychedelic guitar riffs, the next few songs see Kanye self-assured, defiant, and accusatory (“The same people that tried to black ball me / Forgot about two things, my black balls”). Society continually wants to antagonize Kanye, even as he’s a cultural juggernaut; this constant lack of respect sees Kanye fantasizing, almost to the point of fetish, about his “beautiful death,” all over a hyper-stylized beat based around King Crimson’s “21st-Century Schizoid Man.” The ensuing piano interlude plays like a eulogy to Kanye, before “All of the Lights” restores us within that maximalized, glitzy party. Rihanna delivers a massive pop hook, leading an all-star guest cast of Fergie, oft-collaborator Kid Cudi, a sprinkling of Drake, Alicia Keys, and Elton John.

Following the most assured moment on the album, “Monster,” replete with Nicki Minaj’s all-timer verse, is the grotesque logical conclusion for this Side A of excesses. It’s as if the party begins unraveling, with Justin Vernon signaling that the status quo has become unsustainable: “I crossed the limelight,” which conspicuously sounds like “I crossed the line,” thus demarcating the much darker turn in the record.

The orchestral melancholia sweeping through “So Appalled” sees Kanye and Jay-Z scoffing at their power, admitting vulnerability and their ultimate emptiness, even as the riches and woman endlessly pile up to the point of being “fucking ridiculous.” Strings again anchor the beat, providing “Devil in a New Dress” with a wilting minor key as Kanye reflects on a combustible relationship (I’m looking at her like this is what you really wanted, huh? / Why we argue anyway? Oh, I forgot, it's summertime”). “Runaway” is equally fascinating, built on a haunting plink of piano, as Kanye bares the most of himself: “Never was much of a romantic / I could never take the intimacy / And I know I did damage / Cause the look in your eyes is killing me.” The stellar chorus is either Kanye shrugging at the curse of his asshole, damaging tendencies, or he’s sardonically toasting himself, or both. “Blame Game,” however, finds him shoveling off half of his complicity onto something of a straw (wo)man (“At the end of it, you know we both were wrong”); this insincerity is underscored during Chris Rock’s skit, when an automated-sounding woman tonelessly iterates that “Yeezy taught me,” as Kanye gets to “admit” his culpability behind a crooning John Legend and beautiful Aphex Twin piano sample, while the her side is beta AI.

What we’re left with after 69 minutes is a complicated and telling document, taking on the linear properties of a ritzy party devolving into the reveal of Kanye’s innermost mind: paranoid, anxious, and angry; someone so self-assured yet so insecure. Here’s coming of fruition the adage of feeling most lonely in a crowded room. The composition wonderfully reflects that (just compare the early King Crimson sample with the Aphex Twin one), yet the narrator’s perspective is constantly shifting, just like how we perceive the messiness of Kanye’s thought process. MBDTW isn’t a hero’s journey or redemption story; it’s a problematic confessional, one that is overly assured during the early peaks and awkwardly stubborn after the manic crash coming out of “Monster,” into “So Appalled,” and through the rest of the album. Thus, his honesty is just as telling as his rationalizations.

As fine as the album is, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy doesn’t redeem MAGA ‘Ye (or Ye). But it does hint that the same Kanye who could “jump out the window” and #cancel himself could ultimately redeem himself (musically, anyway). For someone who’s “popped a wheelie on the paradigm” this many times, Kanye didn’t all of a sudden see his talent evaporate. Maybe he’ll be back sometime, maybe even soon. But even if it’s nonsensical alt-rightisms and underbaked music from now on, he left us with something eternal. It’s a simple output from an enormously complicated individual: Kanye West made the best pop album of this early century, and the best hip-hop album ever.

Legacy, endure.

#kanye west #MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY #rihanna #jay z #kid cudi #bon iver #gil scott-heron #drake #elton john #fergie #black eyed peas #king crimson #Aphex Twin #pusha t #chris rock #nicki minaj #rick ross

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