#how do they look likeTHAT

[tiredeyes1975]

im bored im just gonna start saying stuff

#i like looking at my playlists and seeing how my music taste has evolved.. before i liked mcr i was just. really into musicals.. #at first it was the weird fandom stuff but i got into it for real.. i think my favorites are into the woods and miss saigon and rent and #phantom of the opera. and then i got into mcr fob paramore and some other bands that were kind of related but not as much? idk i just #listened to whatever was on the alt station so it was green day and blink 182 and the interrupters. but i did like green day #then 2020 happened and i got into mitski but at the same time i listened to neutral milk hotel and ajj and the front bottoms? bands likethat #i had tiktok then and i feel like that influenced me to just listen to songs and not really albums.. or at least i didnt listen to albums in #the way i do now. i think now i take albums as a whole instead of trying to pick individual songs #anyway at that time i did get into radiohead and placebo for realsies and also kind of liked shoegaze stuff. then the car seat headrest hit #BAM i love csh still that took over my brain a lot #i dont even know what happened i only got into 60s/70s music in like april or may. i was just chilling only listening to csh and then out of #nowhere like literally nowhere i thought hmm im in the mood to listen to sgt peppers. and somehow we're here now

[foxtriestobiteandmaimandkilland]

guilts so weird wtf,. 10 seconds ago i was sooo good i was chillin watchin youtube n tryna draw and my biggest worry was how the fuck bodies looks like dude why do we. look likethat. people are so complicated.

and now i feel like the guilt of the entire world and like i am the cause of everyones problems ever ever ever like wtf brain :(

#night thoughts

[choicexdarling]

Yukio Mamiya - Lime 2 (Incomplete)

(Excellent) Take this...♥♥♥

(???) How can I do that!?

(???) You're a guy, you don't need to suck up to people so much.

(Excellent) Don't worry, I won't get mad. What's wrong?

(Good) Oh, you're even more mysterious than usual. What's up?

(Bad) I have a bad feeling about this... what's wrong?

(Excellent) Really? I’ve been looking forward to our outing for a long time.

(Good) ???

(Bad) ???

(Excellent) Yes! I’m glad I tried being selfish.

(Good) ???

(Bad) ???

(Excellent) On a life-level…? That’s huge!

(Good) ???

(Bad) ???

(Good) I’ll get used to it little by little.

(Excellent) ???

(Bad) ???

(Excellent) "Can I call you now?" Or something like that?

(???) "Hug me till I break!" Or something like that?

(???) "I'm heartbroken, so comfort eat with me!" Or something likethat?

(Excellent) Really? I want to hang out with you every day though.

(???) I'm just holding back for Kumi's sake.

(???) That's wouldn't happen lol... not yet anyway!

(Excellent) Isn't being selfish a sign that you're loved?

(???) No problem! I heard this is normal for working people.

(???) I like you when you're working.

(Excellent) There's no one like that! You're the only one I have plans with!

(Good) Yeah, I have a lot of plans and I need to get cleaned up!

(Bad) Nothing! Sadly, there's nothing.

(Excellent) Talk about pressure lol. But, I'm glad you said that though.

(Good) I'll dress appropriately for a nice hotel!

(Bad) I'm going to get into it for you, for the first time in a while.

(Excellent) As a matter of fact, I’ve been studying manners lately

(Good) ???

(Bad) ???

[marszstar]

iam not a chem guy but im pretty sure? thats possible maybe? like i know theres ways 2 split atoms or particles or whtver andlike they can make oxygen likethat. by splitting co2 into c + o2. i dont remember how many carbon comes in. if theyd then figured out a way to make the carbon power things. which i assume would b by reacting it with water unless its a noble gas in which case well its not reactive but im like. 99.99999% sure carbons not that. one sec im looking at a periodic table. okay yeah! cranbons .carbon i mean .is somewhat reactive prolly? but the elements onthe far left r the most reactive. u could prolly use it yeah !! and then you get the leftover oxygen whichis good for. breathing. so !!! probably possible ithink. sorrey this got long iam talkative today

HOLY SHIT?? you did not have to do this I don't even understand half of it ty!! that's cool

#sprry i just. dont even know how to respond to this im jn awe #hello.world #world.speaks

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

I'm

gonna

need

a

minute

#how do they look likeTHAT #these women are in their 50s/40s respectively #and they are hot as fuck #i need a fucking minute to process #yes ive seen this beforr but im overwhelmed by it every time #they are posing for this well aware of how hot they look #paget #aj #who gave you pErMiSsIoN #criminal minds #incorrect criminal minds quotes #criminal minds gone wrong #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #paget brewster #AJ cook #jemily

[outragedslime]

what are your ethnic group/race headcanons for the trolls?

Ooo !! Well for trolls i just draw anything,, sometimes i base a drawing or two off random ppl ive seen from memory. Tbh my...headcanons are constantly changing? I never really gave them specifics.. Which i should probably work on but i wasnt comfortable in my ability to draw various features (im Still learnin) before and im not That invested into hs now.

I feel like id say "this ones from x country" and then draw them rly different next time especially the characters im not that invested in,, its fun to mess w headcanons too! Also a big one is i dont wanna represent a group wrong either and im shite at following refs ;w; or if i follow a ref right once i wont be able to reproduce that again on a refless drawing yet and like....99% of my art rn is refless since im tryin to get out of a year long art block rn. When i get back into drawing multiple times a week tho ill Definitely work on that

Tldr im indecisive so my hcs always change and also i dont wanna set a specific country to any troll yet bc i dont wanna draw them wrong bc i usually draw refless and i know i need to work on that but ive had no motivation to draw at all recently so ive been doing 0 studies but i Will

#i should rly work on learning how to draw specifics but if i tried rn i wouldnt end up drawinf anything #using refs to draw i feel so like...pressured to make it look Perfect and it makes me frustrated #hhng sorry if this isnt the answer you wanted #rn i draw like. one proper thing a month ;w; and i always force myself to do that #remember when i did 3 drawings a week fjsjfs lol who was that can i have their power #yeah but anyway like. usually i dont choose a certain ethnicity #im just like 'ok for u im gonna give u These eyes and then This nose and then This face shape and #i do tend to certain hcs for some characters but i have no idea how to name them #or labelthem bc its just...how i draw them. i didnt look up a specific country and draw them likethat

[cilly-murphy]

Hi 💕 Do you read fics and/or have you any recs? I haven't read a lot of Merlin fics but I've been obsessed with the show every since it aired. Thanks. 💕

Hello! I’m sorry for the late reply, but there were many haha. These fics are the ones i read in 2020, those few months i’ve been back in the Merlin fandom. I’ve read 300 Merlin fics this year and i had to look through them all haha, but my list is strickly personal, not indicative of the fandom. It’s not a “best Merlin fics in the fandom” cause i’ve been back for a few months and i haven’t read the variety yet i should have to be able to rec likethat These are like 99% Merthur 85% canon era. Some cursed and funny ones in this bunch, some fluff, some hurt/comfort, magic reveals, angst, pwp, lots of things really. I hope you like them! And like the cycle of the year, we begin again by katherynefromphilly The Student Prince by FayJay Awake by Cori Lannam (corilannam) Unweave A Rainbow by MidnightLeFay My Place is With You by tehfanglyfish True Love by platonic_boner And He's Still Left with His Hands by witchmd13 In Spite of Everything, the Stars by mushroomtale, Polomonkey The Truth Is You by bigmamag Strike of Lightning by helloearthlings The Weight of Words by waldorph All's Well That Ends Well by StormDancer Finding Home by riventhorn Fools of Us All by adelagia Gadarene by unpossible The Coming of Spring by ingberry The Dirty Little Things You Say by bloodsongs With This Ring by marguerite_26 like water on a burning beach by lunapark  A Heavy Heart to Carry by Thursday_Next Hopeless Wanderer by Magnolia822 A Warlock's Worth by ella_bane  Stars Above, Stones Below by Destina I Owe Every Breath to You by Skitz_phenom Cheers and Spirits by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle Of Faith and Hope and Love by versaphile Dying to Return by StormDancer Onfindan by astolat Favorite by astolat Fathom Me Out by supercalvin Let Us Dare by kianspo Keep Your Secrets by new_kate, orphan_account  How To Love A Living Thing by Polomonkey In Want of a Wife by syllic Change in Crowns by derekstilinski In the Winter of My Soul by ZairaA  Of Kings and Sorcerers by psychicdreams First Thing in the Morning by fennelseed Pining for the Moon by EachPeachPearPlum We Cannot Live Unbruised by fuzzytomato In the Dead of Night by SpiritWorld Stargazing by SpiritWorld And None But We Can Be Such Kings by janne_d You Are My Home by SpiritWorld Breaking Point by tailor31415 Show Me by tehfanglyfish Polished Compliments by SpiritWorld Free Fall by SpiritWorld Grant My Love a Pardon by parnase So Are They All, All Honourable Men by seperis Remember When We Never Faded by giselleslash Threads by Cori Lannam (corilannam) sift out all the dust by helloearthlings Love That Was in Here by arthur_pendragon all we do is think about the feelings that we hide by starkidpatronus Saving Merlin by WordsAreTrulyBeautiful You Mean to Say You've Been Under There This Whole Time? by daroh Here Forevermore by DeHeerKonijn, Emrys MK (mk_malfoy)  Midnight by orphan_account Just Another Day in Camelot by archaeologist_d  The Three Stages of Attraction to Merlin by SassyWarlock  A Prince to Rival the Affection by Impala_Cherry_Trickster Bird With A Broken Wing by versaphile Let Go and Watch the Sunlight Bend by cherrybina Why Can't It Be Me? by wtfisgoingonanymore Arthur's Poetry by Merlins_little_sister In Your Wildest Dreams by vintagelilacs Arthur Enchanted by platonic_boner Settled by helloearthlings Tempting Fate by vintagelilacs Sometimes Sacrifices Need To Be Made by wtfisgoingonanymore When Arthur saw Merlin by Merlins_little_sister My Love For You is Shackled and Restrained by Junemo10 Embrocation by bravenclawesome  Love Entombed by Junemo10 One Merlin, Two Merlin by Junemo10 There Are Nobles, and There Are Those With Noble Hearts by Junemo10 The man with the green dress by Merlins_little_sister whither thou goest by schweet_heart Secret Whistle by thenerdyindividual The Mountain That Moves by Ivalee Much Ado About Arthur by Nejinee The Chakra of Merlin by SweetAndSharp The Very Important Quest by Hope The Unexpected by FleetofShippyShips  Who we truly are by amithia In Dreams by TheAvalonian The Cup and the Dagger by Piscaria A Secret Shared by Emrys MK (mk_malfoy) the Man in the Castle by orphan_account Born of Magic by Destiny and Chicken (Destiny_and_Chicken) Such A Good Friend by tehfanglyfish so close and I'm halfway to it by ariadne_odair

#replies #fic recs #merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #merlin bbc #this took me so long lmao #Anonymous

[gyahyahyahayhahayahyahyahyahyaha]

had a dream bout like this community centre and like a research project both of which i was involved with to some extent

the research project was like all these like basically offices with glass doors and windows, a desk in the middle with the testing apparatus on it and whatever else the occupant of the respective offices brought with them. it was some like mind dive research project or smth where you’d hook yourself up to the testing thing and like just do research in some sort of like plane or dream domain or SOMETHIGN like that and when you like clocked out you just would record the results as best you can and then leave. and thats exactly what i did. i hated the glass windows cuz it just meant ppl could see me as they passed by or whatever and it means i could see them (but thats like just cuz im paranoid as shit irl and in the dream). and i think like various characters and irl people ive met or havent wwere all just participating in it and the corridors that all these offices were lined up along were all lit with some green n purple neon-ish lighting. it looked kinda nice

anyways while rushing on my way out i waved to the few people i was famililiar with inthe dream and made my way across this like hill-y village town thing. there were like different tyhpes of houses and cottages and shacks and they were all in pretty good condition. and all looked really nice n stuff. some of them were like built inside the hill an stuff but nothing too out therei  gues?? on my way over i would like clear the area of any sort of like “threats” i came across to the people in the village/town whatever. like yknow like just monsters looking to kill me for entering their line of sight kinda business.

i dont even know why i was going out of my way to fight them when i could have ran but i think it was like. essentially me hunting for food/income/materials? maybe? im not sure anyways i made it to the community center and it was like this long gymnasium almost with like pale blue lighting a cafe taking up one corner of the gym on one end and on the opposite end was like a fuckign paler, bluer infinite haallwaywith small white pipes an looked like it could be a set fora early 2000′s MV. anyways idk where that hallway went but i was too busy with everything else to see if it led anywhere or just really went on forever..

i was helping set up for some speech for the ceremony to kick of some event thati  think was arguably more important than the research project but i liked doing both cuz the research project was like .... “fun” and the community center event was it felt like idk fulfilling or whatever.

anwyays idek know how what i was doing was “helping” cuz i guess iwasli ke just tryna freehand vertically climb the walls using the friction from slapping my palms against the walls to like gain height and it would work sometimes. and then id like fall and then id try again gettig up to varying heights each time. actually iirc i think i was like tryna get up so high so i could like d ecorate an put up nice flowers and banners and maintain shit onthe roof like the rafters themselves and ibeams n shit likethat

moving stuff around, making some food at the cafe at the other end of the gym

also i dont htink i stressed just how LONG this gym was ignoring the infinite blue hallway. like maybe a bit logner and much narrower than say like a fuckign soccer field or smth. i say narrower but its like not TOO narrow it ever felt cramped or too small or whateveri just mean like compared to regular gym parameters n stuff

someone while i was tryna climb up the walls was tryna yell at me but like i just mostly ignored them cuz like they didnt even kno what i was doing so occasionally i would just “accidentally” drop stuff to scare them off but when that didnt work i would just start thrwoing stuff at them and that didnt work either so i just kept ignoring them

all in all it was a nice dream

this arguably could be said to be some form of my ideal type of life or smth. somethin like that. somethhin along the lines of it maybe. idk. ggenuinely idk bout the fukin research part cuz idk who was even hostin that program or HOW or even what the end goal was but the idea that i coulld just like explore different planes or whatever like that is an extremely appealing one...

heres a quick diagram of the gymnasium + cafe + infinite hallway area

#dreaj

[k0o0be]

a walking adventure

i went on an overnight trip to this place called keesaragutta which was 30km from my place.i know it doesnt seem that far,but itwas tough becasuse i had chosen to do this one by walk.i got this idea when i was planning routes for something to cycle to,when i came across this place,and you know how in google maps they show how much time it takes to walk to a place , so it showed me it would take 7 hours to walk that length so i figured id just do it . it would give alot of time to be with myself and just think about my life,it was really something . the walk took me around 12 hours becasue i figured i was in no hurry and i took maybe 3-4 naps along the way whenever i came across a nice shaded tree.luckily the route i chose didnt have any traffic whatsoever and was pretty scenic. it is really a different type of fun,where it is all slow ,peaceful and relaxing.you really get to look at your sorrounding,atleast better than a cycle.the entire feel of the journey was slow.i had packed super light(just a tent and a shawl),i wanted it to feel like plain walking,i figured id eat  heavy breakfast while im still in the city and buy some fruits along the way.and it was a good decsion. on my way i came across a bench ina village,i decided to take a break.i overhead these two old guys in an other bench.apparently what happend was that someguy in the village tried to kill himself by eating rat poison.because he had a fight with his wife and the wife left him.the other old guy was like if he wanted to really kill himself he would have taken some stronger poison,he just wanted to get his wife to feel sorry for him.i spoke about this with my mom about this ,and she said even she hadcome across people in villages poisoning themselves likethat .its just a very sad thing that is pretty common in our ruralareas.(dont worry,the guy is alive,maybe just had to spend a day or two in an hospital)

ive gotten a feel of how it is to camp,setting up a tent and taking it down doesnt take me much time.my campsite was also very pretty ,i slept beside a lake with i guess what  were  water lillies in them .it was a pleasant view.the next morning i caught a two buses and was home just in 2 hrs. it is really weird that it took me like 10 hrs to walk it and less than 2 to just drive through it.i feel that we really get to understand the imporatnce of a vehcile when we actually walk it. otherwise we might think that 30km is no big deal and might seem like such a smaal distance but in reality it woould take a person an entire day to walk it. im super thankful to be born in this age of vehciles and really awesome roads ,dont know what id do without them.

one thing i notice now is that climbing for 10min is more exhausting than my entire walk.intially i was doubtful if icould walk such a distance but in reality it was pretty easy to do. im surely gonna do it again.

also u might notice that i look like a stupid dork in that outfit,but it was actually a dress inspired by freddie mercury .so if anything blame him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[talkingismylifewrites]

Hi. Don't listen to that other anon. What happened in the capitol was indeed an auto coup d'etat, your so called president spent months encouraging these right extremist until the last minute. i watched on tv how he said that people should go home (after the insurrection) but that the election were rigged. like, what the fuck? instead of making a call for peace he insisted in his story. I'm indeed from one of the countries who suffered the...medling,for putting it lightly,of the US, but that (1)

(2) doesnt mean that what happened is lesser. You are right, that was an intent to desestabilize the country. An attack to the democracy. The people feels safe because the institutions work and are respected, so in any country an act likethat is called a coup for the simple fact that shakes the faith that people had in theirs institutions. And like i said before, desestabilising the country generating doubts and a bad politic atmosfera. So, stay safe and lots of strengts.

thank you so much for reaching out to me, and thank you for your sweet words. yes, what happened on january 6th was disgusting, but fortunately it looks like we’re moving forward in a much better and safer direction. obviously the us still has a lot to do before we can be fully healed, adn we have years and years of wrongs to make right. but for the first time in four years i’m feeling just a little bit more hopeful of what’s to come. 

thank you again for reaching out, your words did a lot to help me and i truly appreciate you. xoxo 💛

[ua-bestjeanist]

Oh, so Centipeder is your forever friend... it’s that one person that you get lucky enough to meet. And everything just seems to fall in to place, like the stars align perfectly. At least that’s what my mom says. I’m still looking for mine... I hope I make friends. I would be lying if said I didn’t miss home a little. How do you handle change... new things in general, I guess that’s what I’m trying to ask? -Evie

Aha, you make it sound like a soulmate..i suppose it could be kind of likethat. We've been there for each other since.

As for change, I have a love-hate relationship with it. I really only like change when I'm in control of it.

#evie #centipeder

[gremmin]

I was in a horrific Christian occult for 3 years of my life, a place that parents sent their children to I’m pretty sur, unlicensed and unprofessional people, to “fix” your “bad child” I was 15 when I went in, on January 14? 2013. But I soley excaped just before I was 18 years old before it was shut down. I can not describe you how much I was mentally abused in this holding place. It is closed now to holding girls anymore, but I have terrible stories about how they made the place look so beautiful that it was going to be a good learning experience but they were to change your mind about what type of religion your going to go after, it happened to be Jesus and god, these people shoved the Bible down your throat as far as it could go, for the first month you weren’t able to have contact with any family, you had to loose all your friends you had back at home and act like you never known them if they faced you in person one day. There was many law like orders you had to do or else you would be punished not seeing your parents/ guardian for the weekend or you would physically do easier to very hard labor for them. I was 93 pounds going into this place and I’m 4”11 so I was very tiny. One labor I had to do was called roots and rocks, that was for hours upon hours straight about 3-4 hours straight roughly. I was only glad to do it because I got fresh air and to be outside..These people had to have your real parents sign the form (I was told) when they made my dad and step mom sign the papers. That was illegal btw (I’m pretty sure) They (Abbas house) maliciously accuse you of things Likethat “you need more work” like that I had to be perfect for god and I couldn’t portray the appearance they so wanted from me. So they would demand more money to stay there ( they told me it was expensive being there, but my ex step mom told me here or I was going to juvie, but they created this beautiful picture about this place so that I would go three hours from my home where I should have stayed.. my ex step mom was a VERY jealous person of me and she wanted me gone, I had a strong relationship with my dad it was great. But The ex step mom had blind sided me.) but Abbas house then would press god even harder at you,that you aren’t doing enough when I don’t know what else I needed to work on, I was doing all I could but it was never enough I then turned into this robot that was being controlled by all these people at Abbas house, they would make me breakdown and tell them things “I did wrong” if I had a connection with a girl there, then they would pry out of you or the other girl to feel extreme guilt for that, you weren’t allowed to be bisexual or even touch anyone in the place, I grew used to not being touched that when someone actually would touch my shoulder I would jump , it would catch me by surprise, you weren’t able to talk to new people if they had come to join Abbas house until you both got to 2nd phase. First phase can last at least 3 months roughly. There were 4 phases. I got to the fourth phase where I could finally wear whatever approved clothes I got to bring in, but before that you had a dress code. The dress codes were VERY strict. No shorts higher than 3-6 inches above the knees, we were to wake up and eat their terrible breakfasts, waking at 5 or 6am usually, 1 girl would set up the table and to sweep afterwards and one making the breakfast also they or I would do dishes, we always were switching agendas every week, we had to see what we got, a staff was always present with us as we had to be watched literally 24/7, at night we had sound alarms just incase one of us were ever thinking about running away. We could only walk to the bathrooms if anywhere else the alarm would go off. I became very schizophrenic minded in this god fobbidden place that I would have nightmares of demons every night and that I could only scream for Jesus or god, they made me pray every night with the staff, it got so bad that I couldn’t be in the bed rooms with the girls anymore I had to sleep in the staff room for a long time I can’t remember now

[max--666]

so. ive decided 2 try 2 compromise with my recurring impulse 2 buzz my hair off: im gonna shave the sides instead

#once i like. yaknow. work up the courage again lol #its not like i havent had Out ThereTM haircuts its just tht cutting off more than an inch or two at a time feels..... traumatic #like thats not an exaggeration theres something about sudden change likethat that i find hard 2 handle #i didnt even mean 2 grow it out i was just lazy and too anxious to phone to make an appointment when my mum stopped doing it for me #i honestly dont think i could pull off a buzz cut unless i a) did something 2 improve my eyebrows #and b) put more consistent effort into what i wear and how i present myself #tbh theres just smth abt the buzz cut w/ strong eyebrows that mkaes it a Good Look #but my eyebrows are weird and im 2 wimpy 2 pluck and waxing requires actually interacting with some1 else to get it done so yh no #anakinvents.txt

[racingtoaredlight]

“Mr. Steve Harris on the bass guitar...”

Over the past few days, I’ve learned a half dozen Iron Maiden songs.  Since September, I’ve easily learned over 100 songs, almost all of them a tributary of the big Motown/funk river.  It all started playing James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey songs, and I immediately understood why the Fender Precision Bass was so revered.

Before then...literally my entire musical life...I’ve always preferred the Jazz Bass, largely due to being a big-time Jaco acolyte.  That’s because I was a guitarist though.  I never did anything with bass other than mess around with one, so my opinion really didn’t have any weight behind it.

But the styles of music I’ve been playing since then...it’s not that the Jazz Bass doesn’t work well...it’s that the Precision Bass is perfect.  I knew the history of the instrument since it ran parallel to both the Telecaster and Strat, but once I started looking for P-Basses, I saw them everywhere.

Iron Maiden has been a band I’ve loved since I was a teenager.  I associated P-Basses with him as much as I learned to associate it with guys like Jamerson, Rainey, Duck Dunn and basically every major session bassist to exist.  He just happened to be the first bassist who’s band I loved that was a P-Bass lifer.

The P-Bass is the ultimate bass tool because of how easily it fits into a variety of musical styles.  I mentioned a few above, I even talked about the P-Bass in punk earlier in the month, and I figured it’d be a good time to talk about how Steve Harris used it to define Iron Maiden’s sound.

***

There’s no better song to illustrate Steve Harris’ signature characteristic than “Run to the Hills.”  The gallop.

First off, can you think of anything better thematically for a high-tempo gallop than a Wild West, cowboys vs. Indians setting?  The gallop is what defined Iron Maiden’s sound more than anything, even more than Bruce Dickinson’s operatic vocals.  It gives their music this outrageously powerful forward momentum, becoming seemingly unstoppable once they get to full speed.

What makes Iron Maiden different from a lot of metal bands is that Harris is the foundation, something rarely seen in a genre dominated by the guitars.  For direct contrast, take a listen to Metallica’s ...And Justice For All.  You might not even notice the bass being there at all.

Iron Maiden has shifted guitarists throughout their existence, adding all three of them to the permanent lineup a few decades ago.  With Harris providing such a strong, foundation with the bass, having three guitarists on tap to do these awesome harmonized melodies gives them this massive flexibility and allows them to cover a huge amount of sonic real estate.

When you don’t have to sacrifice a guitarist to play the main riff, you can make up the ground you lose with the huge sounds by layering melodies, and giving the music an entirely new dimension.  Nobody would ever accuse Iron Maiden of not being able to lay down some heavy shit, but the flexibility they have with Harris on bass allows them to add a melodic element to that heaviness.

***

Harris’ melodic ability is another thing that makes the above possible.  He’s not some melodic liability on bass, relegated to holding down these massive sound waves...he’s nimble and able to keep pace with the blistering guitar lines.

When he’s running in stride with the guitar harmonies on “Ace’s High” you get a musical sense of fighter planes flying in tight formation, each performing their roles at Mach speed.  Then the band breaks formation, things becoming almost chaotic with these high-speed dives, and then likethat they’re back in unison.

If the bass is an afterthought...especially in metal...it’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Sometimes you want as simple of a foundation to layer harmonies and melodies over, with the bassist rarely playing anything more than 1′s and 5′s.  Mozart did this.  Oscar Peterson does this.  A whole shitload of great music has asked the bassist to play an anonymous support role.

Beethoven and Bach didn’t agree, and neither did Iron Maiden.  It’s not a better or worse type thing...just a different approach.  Having a melodic, versatile bassist gives a band the ability to do a lot of cool things.

***

I’m not writing this post because of P-Basses...it’s just kinda topical.

The reason I started writing this thing is because of the right hand.  It took all of my first run through of “Run to the Hills” to realize that playing along with Iron Maiden songs is going to be about as good of a right hand workout as masturbating.

Took all the wind out of your sails, didn’t I?

Anyways, Steve Harris’ right hand is fucking insane.  That gallop, this pulsing “bum-b-b-bum” is exhausting to keep up at such high tempos.  The first time through “Run to the Hills” it was painfully obvious when I’d start to fall back due to my arm screaming at me.  If you’re not used to keeping that tempo going, when you start to feel fatigue, your technique gets sloppy real fast.

And “Number of the Beast” is way harder than that.  The riff is staggered and weaves in and out, and if you get lost or trip up, you’re fucked.  A few days of playing these songs...taking a few minutes to work on particularly tricky sections...and it’s crazy how much my right hand technique has improved.

Playing along with songs like Tower of Power’s “What is Hip?” or Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream”...songs with these long, sustained lines of straight 8th or 16th notes...all of the sudden became super tight and in the pocket.  Those pulsing 8th/16th notes were fucking spot on.  And instead of tensing up during those sections, after doing immersion therapy of sorts with nothing but high-octane songs that’s basically 4-6 minutes of exactly that, I began to relax and they started to flow naturally.

***

Iron Maiden is fucking awesome.

fín

#music #bass #precision bass #p bass #iron maiden #steve harvey