#the mellow chill quartet

[bzedan]

Ah, July. Not the hottest month (that is August or September), but it is very a Summer Month. June is mostly (and technically is like two thirds?) a Late Spring Month, but in July summer has arrived and they are decked out in sparkles and sweating everywhere triumphantly.

So I wanted songs about water and outer space and agitation between chill summer vibes and snappy summer bops. There's some new music on there, including the single from CRJ's latest, which I ADORE. More neo-disco please! OH also enjoy the best possible cover of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf," it's jazz. This is very a playlist to half-ignore while lazing about something else, it's all vibes, can be put on shuffle, and some of the songs'll grab ya, but who knows which on which playthrough.

Related media to some of the songs:

Just listening to Masstor's "Self Control" you might not realise that it's being sung by a giant blue orc? monster? guy in the most amazing creature/costume build (he's got so much available movement! it looks like Not A Bitch to get in and out of!), but here's the music video so you can experience the entirety of the vibes.

Janelle Monáe's The Age of Pleasure is such a killer summer album, the vibes in the "Waterslide" music video are fabulous, and please do check out the other videos for this album, it feels like they just rented a sick house for a weekend and knocked all the videos out while cavorting poolside.

Jim Sullivan's U.F.O. is a household favourite, and his story is a sad and semi-mysterious one. It's one of those "you hope it was a miracle... but probably not" situations.

There are multiple Bart Graft tracks on here, big recommend as background music for working, it's dance stuff but often chill. It's all vibes, I love it.

Anyway here's a link to July's playlist on Spotify, with the track list below the cut.

And embedded if you like that sort of thing:

'The Swimming Song' - Loudon Wainwright III  

'Pool Party' - Rudy Willingham  

'Spaceship' - Kesha  

'Give Us the Wind' - Future Islands  

'U.F.O.' - Jim Sullivan  

'Under the Boardwalk' - The Drifters  

'Turn Off the Lights' - LEN  

'The Visitors' - ABBA  

'Shy Boy' - Carly Rae Jepsen  

'Only Love Can Save Us Now' - Kesha  

'Season in Hell' - Dum Dum Girls  

'Self Control' - MASSTOR  

'Kokomo' - The Beach Boys  

'Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) - Single Version' - Enya  

'Good Vibrations' - Brian Wilson  

'Like Whiskey' - Dixon Dallas  

'Is It Cold In The Water?' - SOPHIE  

'Water Slide' - Janelle Monáe  

'Waterpark Inmersion' - El Guincho  

'Under the Water Fountain' - Bart Graft  

'Worship' - Ari Abdul  

'On the Water' - Future Islands  

'Gespaard's Poolside' - Bart Graft  

'Carry On, Turn Me On' - Space  

'As We Go Up, We Go Down' - Guided By Voices  

'Heroes and Villains' - Brian Wilson  

'Sunshine' - Oliver Tree  

'Vitamin C - 2004 Remastered Version' - CAN  

'Beam Me Up' - Midnight Magic  

'If You Love Me - Si Me Quieres' - Tito & Tarantula  

'Happy - Live Acoustic From Space' - Kesha  

'In My Blood' - Vitamin String Quartet  

'Brand New Key' - Melanie  

'Mellow Yellow' - Donovan  

'Hungry Like the Wolf' - Dinah Eastwood  

'I'm in Great Shape / I Wanna Be Around / Workshop' - Brian Wilson

'Let's Go Swimming' - Arthur Russell  

'Grease' - Future Islands  

'Sliver Of Ice' - ANOHNI  

'Temba, Tumba Y Timba' - Los Van Van  

'Motivate Ya (feat. Kelly Price)' - Big Freedia  

'In the Summertime' - Mungo Jerry  

'Underwater' - Sun's Signature  

'Steal My Sunshine' - LEN  

'Good Lookin'' - Dixon Dallas  

'Come For Me' - Sunflower Bean  

'Summer's Cauldron - Remastered 2001' - XTC  

'The Girl from Ipanema' - Astrud Gilberto  

'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire - From "A Small Light: Episode 3"' - Sharon Van Etten  

'Moon Journey' - Mort Garson  

'The Night Terrors - Saint Etienne Mix' - Matt Berry  

'Under Pressure' - Queen  

'Welcome To My Island' - Caroline Polachek  

'Down By the Sea' - Men At Work  

'One & Only' - Oliver Tree  

#meche makes playlists #syndicated from subscription sites #playlists #Spotify #how many times do i say vibes here #a lot! #it’s all I got for july is vibes

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the working week although, for those of you in the NHS, welcome to just another day!

Many thanks to everyone that listened to the show on Saturday afternoon, and many thanks to those that will listen to it on Mixcloud. Naturally, because of the Queen’s passing, we had to keep it downtempo and mellow, so I jumped straight into The Letter J and selected two hours of relatively chilled music. Next week, The Letter I (Pt. 4) featuring a tribute to Gregory Isaacs, ending The Letter I with a two-hour tribute to The Isley Brothers on September 24th.

In my humble opinion, it was the wrong decision to postpone the football games at the weekend. These games were perfect opportunities for ordinary people and the football community to express their love and grief. The players could have worn black armbands, there could have been a minute of silent reflection and the crowd would have needed little encouragement to sing ‘God Save The King’. Which is EXACTLY what they did at the test match at The Oval! It could have been a huge cathartic experience for many people. Did my gas and electricity and Sky and BT and council tax bills get postponed this week? Did they hell!

Really glad to say the pain is subsiding. I’m now actually walking in shoes! I’ve been living in sliders for the last three weeks! I am moisturising like crazy, particularly my feet, and this is going to be a major change in my life. Straight white guys are not that hot on moisturising. Dry, cracked skin? Not a problem! We all imagine we are indestructible; no ailment will affect us, nothing can infect us. I was wrong. So wrong. Cellulitis has been painful. Almost as painful as listening to one genre of music for hours on end. Almost. So, from now on, I am actually going to moisturise my skin every day. My wife does it every day and so can I.

On Saturday, people marched to Scotland Yard to demand justice for Chris Kaba, who was shot and killed last week by Met. police. Sky News showed aerial footage of the march and actually told viewers it was ‘well-wishers’ on their way to Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to the Queen. Gross incompetence or racism? You decide which. Amazingly, Sky News corrected themselves later in the day but did not apologise to viewers for this horrendous faux pas!

When I was a kid, attending Highgate Wood Secondary Modern Comprehensive, one of my best mates was a kid called Lewis Nicholson. He used to live on Muswell Hill Road and I hung out at his place a lot. His mum, Mavis, had her own TV interview show; she was like a female Michael Parkinson. To many, she was a big star. To me, she was Mave The Rave. One day, Lewis and I were making a lot of noise up in his room. Mave shouted up the stairs, “What are you doing?” “Nothing!” we innocently replied. “Well, stop doing it!” she said. Makes me laugh to this day. Anyway, Mavis Nicholson passed away on Thursday. Very sad.

On Sunday, The Trouble and I went to a wonderful soiree at The Crazy Coqs inside Zedel’s in Piccadilly Circus, to celebrate my cousin and his wife’s ruby wedding anniversary. Delicious champagne and canapes and no DJ but a live quartet playing beautiful songs from the thirties, forties and fifties. 40 years of marriage! That is some good going! I guess it’s actually quite a skill to choose a life-long partner? To look at someone and know – confidently – that you’re going to be comfortable to spend a lifetime with them.

It was a brilliant Sunday until we got home to ANOTHER speeding ticket for driving 24 m.p.h. Really? The cost of living is affecting all of us. Food, fuel and energy bills have gone through the roof. A speeding ticket for driving 24 m.p.h.? Is that not a little heavy-handed and insensitive? Yes, I understand the police are trying to slow drivers down by making more streets 20 but these are exceptional times!

Have a marvellous and momentous Monday. I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #lockdown #new blog #coronavirus #books #weekend #democracy #brexit #cronyism #election #autumm

[twistedsoulmusic]

Lemon Quartet, a group of gifted musicians from Ohio, cooks up some mellow soundscapes that are just the ticket for those late-night chill sessions. Their tunes are like a warm blanket for your mind as they unhurriedly join the electronic, ambient, and jazz dots. Perfect for some quiet self-reflection or just chilling after a hectic day, it’s hard not to love their effortlessly cool style.

#electronic #jazz #ambient #lo fi

[dracanianwyvern]

Stupid stuff regarding my scug quartet.

The pearl reader: he's pretty mellowed out, and doesn't have alot of energy for things he enjoys because of having to keep the others from harming themselves. The oldest one of the four.

The forager: your local vegan who can eat batflies, he can scrounge up a meal from food scraps in bushes and crevices. He is usually chill but has the slight mentality of 'fuck around and find out'. Second oldest.

The explorer: CENTIPEDE N SPOODER MAN. He can only eat centipedes and arachnids, he is not against using violence if you piss him off. It doesn't help with the fact that he has... a slight temper... you'll usually find him crawling on the ceiling holding an explosive spear. Second youngest.

The water runner: oh boy, it's that maniac younger brother. He does not have the part of his brain that identifies food from non food items... so if you're wondering... yes he will and very much can eat rot. When it comes to water he will literally just run right across it. He will eat anything and everything that fits in his mouth, he is also very high energy. Dare I say more energetic then rivulet.

#rain world #infodumping #my blorbo babies #my shit

[brainpussyfication]

Next event we'll be supporting is the following! Coinciding with the BPF052 tape release, first of the three fundraiser events planned for the first quarter of the year will take place on 22nd of February 2022, at 3XTR, in Berlin! Get in touch through possible channels if you are not sure where the venue is. We still don't know about what public health policy will be in place on this date, but regardless of your injection status, bring a daily test result, as well as your other sanitary paperwork. Doors will be open only between 19h and 20h. Concerts right after that in the follwoing order: 20:00 CATARAT 20:30 Las Migrañas 21:00 Kikiriki 21:30 Kalash x Tavil (BPF052 Release Concert) 22h we have a loudness curfew! The evening will be powered by BUSS: Big & Ugly Soundsystem The proceedings will be used to cover the expenses of the recent upgrade/fix the soundsystem has received. If you are late, make sure that you have somebody you can reach inside, who can open you the door eventually. CATARAT Berlin's (one of the) freshest uncomprimising, punk-noise quartet coming back to blast your (r)ears through BUSS once again! https://soundcloud.com/catarat Hell Nova- E. Bass, Chello, Voc. Sò Salvotian - Baritone Sax, Voc. Clèar Panthèr - E. Guitar, FX, Voc. Mars Master- Drums, Voc. Las Migrañas Another Berlin based band, another fresh combination of younglings(!) playing music that actually doesn't make your eyes pop off your skull! Chilled and mellow, only to prepare you what's gonna follow afterwards! Inversau - Synths, Vocals Kid O'Gohn - E. Bass https://youtu.be/aZZlVqwxs2E https://www.instagram.com/lasmigraniasok/ Kikiriki It's noise and it's the only act not of Berlin. Nina Faric - Electronics http://kikiriki.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/KikirikiOneWomanNoise Kalash x Tavil Since 2018, the two were meeting on different occasions in Berlin, their duo session recorded in 2019 February, to be released on this particular date is now counting the days. Dirar Kalash - Pure Data Utku Tavil - No-Input Mixer https://soundcloud.com/dirarkalash https://soundcloud.com/utkutavil

[yudonomi]

prussia for the character ask?

send me a character & I’ll answer the following about them!

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang 

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff (i have never harry potter-ed so uhh take my opinion with a grain of salt)

best quality: Discipline (insert EU4 joke). He used to be a bit of an impulsive idiot as a kid but becoming a great power and soldier, he’s grown into a more controlled individual. This extends to physical needs, so he’s really good at adapting to different sort of situations and places (the environmental shift from Jerusalem to the Baltics must have taken a while though).

worst quality: Self-denial/restraint because I love it when the best/worst qualities are similar or different facets of the same characteristic. While Gilbert is an individual with great survivability, he sometimes takes it too extreme, like he can sometimes get into these stretches where he works for a day or more straight without eating or resting because stuff needs to get done. He’s also not quite adept at outwardly expressing softness, and while he wasn’t a bad brother to young Ludwig, he certainly wasn’t the kindest or most affectionate (”Learn to suffer without complaining" was one of the quickest lessons the kid learned).

ship them with: Roderich and Ivan because historical enemies/allies hot but also Lovi because they are sorta similar in a way.

brotp them with: Feli and Lud because I love the Compass Quartet (NS Italy + EW Germany). 

needs to stay away from: (Gil gets the honor of my only Heta NOTP sorry Erzsi I just cannot)

misc. thoughts: Most of my Gilbert thoughts are pre-WWII, so he’s not yet the chill basement dude he is now in canon. Also, he and Brandenburg were married in the 17th century. Brandenburg’s disappearance and Ludwig’s existence forced Gil to grapple with mortality in a way most other nations haven’t, and it’s helped him mellow out in the modern age now that he’s ‘retired’.

#hasten replies #anon #hetalia #hws prussia #aph prussia #i love my dying gay son #pangle is also my ot3 despite the notp. comfort disaster trio #roten und schwarzen

[rexcaliburechoes]

You know that game idea I was kicking around for a bit? And I ended up writing like. A bunch of paragraphs for it? Yeah, that one.

Well, I made some mock designs for it.

As it goes, I know 0 about character design and I am not very good at posing and proportions, as well as the fact that this is all a WIP and will probably never go anywhere. Good? Good.

Warning, this is pretty damn long because I discuss some potential character interactions and the designs because I need to talk about it lmao (obligatory readmore because I talk too much lmao)

Viola

Viola’s the odd one out of the three because I he just kind of popped into my brain one day and I went “sure let’s roll with that” simply because I was throwing around ideas for the rest of the String Quartet as it were (Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass). The other two I sat myself down and said “I’m doing this today okay” and then I did it but he’s weird because he just naturally occurred as it were. 

I’ve imagined him as something of a moody teen. He’s also kind of defensive and prickly and a bit angsty. He’s sweet under that outer shell of thorns, though. He has something of a inferiority complex to Violin, since as far as I am aware, violas don’t usually get solos in classical orchestra (though I could be 100% wrong and I’m admitting that bc I don’t remember much of symphony orchestra. Actually I remember a lot of symphony, but not enough, sadly).

Violin teases him a lot, but she makes it known that she doesn’t mean any of the joking barbs she throws at Viola. She knows he’s important in his own right, but still the jokes can hurt, so he’s distant from her. He wants the spotlight too, but he’s also a little afraid of it because what if he makes himself a laughingstock when he finally gets his solo? Poor thing.

Design-wise, I think he’d wear probably a dark red hoodie with white trim, or something. Idk. Yes, he wears skinny jeans (in black, probably), and no, I don’t know why I drew him with cuffed pant legs. He’s a Converse kind of guy, I think, and his hair is is a bleach blond. No clue if his hair has any other color in it.

He doesn’t wear his hood up all the time though. When he’s particularly moody, he’ll probably pull it over his head (I imagine his default sprite is him with his hood up because I think he won’t be that open to the player just yet) and close the strings, but otherwise, his hood is up enough because he wants to or it’s down because he wants to.

Imagine though, if the player gets enough “bond points” with him, his default will change to him having his hood down because he’s more comfy with the player, in general (and maybe the player like seeing his face idk) and that’s a barrier broken. Imagine Viola being a cuddlebug with the player because they’re so warm and it feels nice to be around them. Imagine Viola smiling more instead of looking grumpy. Imagine Viola finally opening up and learning that he is worthy of being a string instrument and he is loved and cherished for who he is and that he doesn’t need to be better than Violin to have worth because he is is own person, and that’s what matters.

Imagine him mending fences with Violin in a sidequest. Violin stops teasing him so much (but since she’s like a sister to him, of course she’s going to annoy him- it’s what siblings do) and Viola being more open to her and showing her that warmth he too has.

Gameplay-wise, since he’s a member of the Strings family, he would have a higher ATK stat with lower DEF and HP as a tradeoff. However, he’s more beefy than Violin, who probably is The Glass Tank to the entire String family. Maybe Stradivarius is the Most Glass Tankiest out of all of the Strings. I dunno.

Guitar

Okay, so I’m not gonna lie, Guitar is my favorite design out of the three here. I don’t know if I wanted him to be bishounen or ikemen but since I can’t draw ikemen at freaking all, I went the bishounen route. but I think he’s still more handsome than pretty, so maybe he’s already ikemen?

So, I imagine Guitar as more of a mellow guy. He’s nice, maybe unremarkable, but that’s what’s great about him. He’s definitely handsome though, and he knows it. He’s most definitely a flirt. He takes pride in his appearance, but isn’t vain. Out of the Guitar brothers, he’s probably the most “chill” one. He’s also “cool” because… yknow. Guitars are cool. I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t really didn’t know what else to put for his character, so I might add or change things as I see fit in the future.

Design-wise, I wanted him to be pretty. In fact, the first thing I had in my mind was a white button-down and a vest. What I did not foresee, however, was how much of a pain in the ass drawing a collar was. I forgot how much I hated drawing collared men’s shirts lol. I actually wanted one side to be untucked, giving him like… a roguish?? Sexy??? Vibe. But I decided against it because it didn’t look good At All.

The vest was also a “should I or should I not” thing. Maybe it was because I really liked how I drew the shirt. i was worried that he’d look too formal, but I don’t think he looks too formal after it was finished. The coat slung over his shoulder was a “cool” booster lol. He never wears it, just like he’ll never button the top button of his shirt.

His color palate would probably be tans. White shirt, tan vest. Probably black pants, and the jacket is a wildcard. No clue what color it would be. His hair is probably a sandy brown and shiny. It looks very soft and it very much is. Most of the guitar players I see have long hair and/or a beard, so maybe he’ll have a little stubble? Dunno.

Imagine the player getting enough “bond points” with Guitar and him actually meaning what he says because initially he wanted to tease the player a bit or that was just a way he jokes around but now… he cares for their well-being deeply. Imagine Guitar being goofy and an utter prankster like his brother Electric Guitar. Imagine him being a bad influence to the younger/more impressionable instruments and getting all of them in trouble with the player because he too is cheery and bright but he’s just more well known for being mellow and romantic and smooth and he just keeps up with that image because he’s worried that others view him as strange or they would abandon him because he’s a popular hobby instrument but sometimes hobbies don’t pan out well and he’s been left in some attic alone and unplayed and abandoned only to be sold again to another person.

Imagine him worrying over his brothers because they’re doing something dumb and he has to bail them out. Imagine in a sidequest, he loses his cool and goes absolutely feral because his brothers are in mortal danger when he initially had more of a distant relationship to them.

Gameplay-wise, I imagine him to be a little more like the Brass family (of which I have yet to actually do anything for)- more beef in exchange for ATK. But since he’s from the Strings, he naturally has higher ATK and has more skills associated with the Strings family.

Violin

Okay. I have played violin for over 7 years guys. I haven’t played in an orchestra for a while though so my inf might be outdated or something because I’ve not been in an orchestral environment for two years.

So I’ve imagined Violin to be something of a drama queen? That’s too strong of a word for it, but I can’t think of anything else. Dramatic, perhaps, suits her better. She’s certainly formal and definitely haughty and “cultured” but she’s as cultured my file directory (aka not at all). Well, that’s a lie. She certainly has class. She likes attention but she’s not an attention whore and also she doesn’t have that much of an ego.  She takes her job very seriously, too, and is a perfectionist. Perhaps she’s more like Viola than she lets on…

She appreciates the “little guy” as it were and is not one of those “ohime-sama” characters. Yes, there’s a stylistic difference between a fiddle and a violin (bluegrass/country vs classical and jazz), but in the body and neck of the actual instrument, as well as the range, there is very little to no difference. The main differences are the strings (fiddles typically use steel strings for a brighter sound compared to violins which use synthetic or traditional gut strings) and the bridge (flatter for string crossing/chords and rounded for single note playing).

I’m getting ahead of myself. I imagine Violin parties hard in addition to simply being all wound up and “classy”. Like, she’s probably the one doing karaoke and shots and in general being Wild while also being her typical Responsible, Classic, Dramatic self. She’s also quite sweet and is a hopeless romantic, but she has something of a short fuse and can get really scary when she wants to be. She’s probably Disaster Bi.

Design-wise, my first thought was concert blacks. Seriously. Whenever you hear “violin”, please tell me that you, too, hear someone in an elegant black dress, absurdly beautiful and pristine? Just me? Okay. She has beautiful brown hair that’s wavy and silky and soft and maybe it’s magic but it changes color slightly in the light when you see it at a different angle.

Imagine the player getting enough “bond points” with her and she finally starts to let her hair down. Imagine she invites the player to a karaoke bar or simply to a small party/gathering she and a few other instruments have planned because she wants to have fun. Imagine she sets up a drinking game that includes Spin The Bottle or 7 Minutes In Heaven or something because she can be fun and she’s not just uptight and known for being for the nobility. Maybe she’s insecure about how others see her because she’s been seen always as a tightly wound person and she too can have fun and be wild and free and happy and not a stick in the mud. Maybe she’s a perfectionist because that’s what’s been drilled into her from her creation because she’s usually a sign of nobility and nobles have to be perfect and she must be perfect to charm crowds of people and she’s only beautiful because she’s perfect but she’s beautiful even with her imperfections and her quirks and she doesn’t need to be Wild to prove that she can be fun and that’s okay.

Imagine her and Viola making up in a sidequest. She knows that she teases him and pokes fun at him a lot but she really doesn’t mean it. She knows that he’s an important instrument in orchestras and she tells him that yes he is needed and is important and yes, she’ll stop poking fun at him because she realises that her comments actually do hurt and she doesn’t want him to feel unloved. But she’ll still annoy him because that’s what big sisters do but she’ll stay away from those kinds of jokes because she doesn’t mean it and it’s mean so she’ll stop.

Gameplay-wise, she’s definitely on the more glass canon side of things. She has excellent ATK, but her DEF and HP are kinda… shit. I’d pair her with other String instruments that have higher DEF and HP to help balance out her flaws or even put her on a team with Percussion or Brass or even have her with a Woodwind to help with healing and she’ll do the damage necessary.

#rex rambles #rex can't draw #rex can't write #that game that rex keeps developing #rip the readmore went away... Sorry;;; #violin #viola #guitar

[halfhumanscribe]

String Movements

Synopsis:  Just a moment in the middle of the night for a few fast food workers, listening to some classical music. RATING: E (Everyone) ORIGINAL PUBLISHING DATE: 2017

Part of a writing exercise done with a friend.  It was hastily written as we were timing ourselves.  My own personal opinion on this writing is it comes off a bit pretentious to be honest, but it was a nice little scene to write.

WORD COUNT:  1264

Forgive any formatting issues.  Review and critiques are appreciated.

String Movements by Inganno

“Have we had a customer in the past hour?” Evette asked as she pushed the mop against the dirty, shoe streaked ground.

Paul looked out the drive thru window, and saw nothing but the usual 2am traffic.  He looked back at the dark-skinned woman and shook his head.

Evette sighed and rung out the mop head again, watching grey water splash into the mop bucket.  She couldn’t help but cringe at the site of it.  Then again, when you were being paid minimum wage, it was expected with the job.

Off by the fryers, Devon sat on a stool in the corner, his head bobbing up and down as he did his best to stay awake.  Both Paul and Evette had a bet going to see if he’d eventually fall out of his stool the moment he let his guard down.  A few slip ups here and there, but no head traumas yet.

Needless to say, the burger shop’s idea of extending drive-thru hours past midnight was turning out to be disaster of wasted man labor.  After one drunken car of three teenagers around 1:00am, there wasn’t much else afterwards.  All they could do was clean and twiddle their thumbs.

It was made worse by their store manager, who would periodically check the cameras to make sure they were doing something.  He’d pitch a fit if he saw them on their phones, even though he hadn’t even worked a single night shift in over a year.  Of course, that didn’t stop them from blasting music here and there.

It Paul’s night for music, much to Devon’s objections, as Paul was a music student at the local university.  This meant a night of classical orchestra and symphony, which acted as the prime reason for poor Devon’s oncoming slumber.  The lullabies were just too much for him.

Evette didn’t mind though.  She was both their superior in age and wisdom, and had listened to a wide range of music in her time.  Though she was barely past forty, she considered herself wise beyond her years, albeit a bit blunt at the same time.

“This is ridiculous,” Paul groaned.  “Why are we even still here?  Can’t we just close up shop and go?”

“You know Mr. Simmons would get heated if we tried,” Evette replied, following it with a yawn as she rested on the handle of the mop.  “Marcus and Tiff tried that a few days ago.  He bumped them off the schedule.”

This was news to Paul.

“Did they get fired?”

Evette shook her head.

“No.  Just taken off for a week or two as punishment.”

“Damn…”

The idea quickly left Paul’s mind as he returned to stare blankly out onto the streets.  That only lasted a few seconds before a cold chill brushed against him, and he closed the window.  All he had left to keep himself entertained was his music, coupled with the occasional glance to Devon who was almost completely out.

“I think he’s gone,” Paul added.

Devon mumbled something inaudible and fumbled a bit in his stool.  He wasn’t totally asleep, but he certainly had forgotten where he was.

A simple strings piece began to play on Paul’s phone, hidden under the counter and connected to an AUX speaker used to push pop music out during lobby hours. He recognized it immediately as the Largo Sostenuto movement from String Quartet no. 1 “From My Life.”  Bedric Smetana ended up being the subject of an essay piece in one of his previous classes, and he found the composer was deserved of a spot in his music collection.

He took in a deep breath and let the music enter his soul, putting him at some ease.  Though the strings were slow and mellow, they were brushed with powerful emotion, which ended up being the reason he wrote a “passing” essay.

He took another quick glance around the room and found a curious site to behold.

There in the middle of the room, Evette was dancing with her mop.  And it wasn’t some sort of silly spins or twirls. The woman was actually performing some surprisingly complex moves with the mop handle.  Paul didn’t know the exact names for some of them, but they were certainly familiar.

“Evette,” he started, “are you a dancer?”

She paused for a moment.

Paul half expected her to stop and return to cleaning, having been caught dancing when she was sure no one was watching.  However, instead of embarrassment or humiliation, her face was filled with a sense of adulation – a smile spreading well across her face.

“Twenty-four years,” she answered.  “Ten years or so professional on the stage.”

“You were a stage dancer?”

She nodded, slowly beginning to get back into a gradual dance with the mop.

“Not here,” she continued, setting her dance partner aside as she began a solo dance, “but back when I was living in New Orleans.  I was pretty sharp on the ballet circuit there.”

Her movements were incredibly graceful, adapting to the sudden barrage of strings that burst forth from the speakers.

Paul checked on Devon after the long burst, and found the noise did nothing for the sleeping man.  Back to Evette…

“What happened?” Paul asked outright, forgetting manners in his youthful curiosity.  “If you danced professionally, why are you working here?”

She forgave him for such a question, so rudely asked.  She had children who were a few years younger than him, so she understood the interest.

“I got old,” she explained, a tinge of sadness running across her face. “These bones just couldn’t keep up with the faster melodies anymore, so I ended up retiring.  It’s more common than you think in the dance profession.”

He wasn’t surprised to hear that.  It was one of those careers where age meant more than most knew, and that the end usually came sooner than later.  Still, it didn’t answer his question.

“As for why I’m here,” Evette continued, “why not?”

She shot a glare at the pale boy, which shut him up.  The best way to describe it was the “mom stare” which put any child in their place, no matter the age.  Perhaps it was best to drop the subject then.

“Sorry,” Paul quickly apologized.  He then noticed the song was coming to its closing minute and tried to salvage the moment.  “Don’t let me stop you though.  I just think you’re really good, is all.”

“Well thank you,” she said with a nod, continuing her movement.

The two remained silent as Paul watched the woman prance happily to the sound of the strings.  For a moment, he wandered what kind of woman she was in her youth.  He thought of her dancing to a sold out crowd, everyone coming to see her, playing to the likes of Beethoven, Schubert, and Rachmaninoff.

If anything, it made him want to watch her more.  But the song was on its final seconds as the strings began to fall, leading to a perfect silence.

In these moments, she too finished her dance, giving a very solemn pose close to the ground.  Good thing she had mopped that spot.

Paul was about to give her a round of applause, feeling like she truly deserved it, having performed exclusively for him.  Before he could get a clap in, he was brought to shock from the sound of a loud thud behind him.

All of sudden, Evette burst out laughing, while Paul whipped around.

“There we go,” he muttered as Devon was slowly picking himself up off the floor – the fallen stool next to him.

#ing's stories #fiction #short story #writing

[tonguetiedmag]

music: weekly roundup (our favorite song submissions of the week)

Jon Vinyl - Work

Jon Vinyl effortlessly exudes smoothness in “Work.” The contemporary R&B track makes for easy listening, even though it’s about just the opposite: hard work. “Work,” as Vinyl says, is an ode to “the beautiful exhaustion that is songwriting.” This can be seen in the chorus: “All this working got me crazy, but I’m still patient.” Later, he sings, “Getting paid to speak, easy to listen but it’s hard for me... I ain’t complaining, love what I do.” It’s the perfect chilled out mantra for when you need some extra motivation, but aren’t quite ready to go full steam ahead. 

Toledo - Que Pasa? 

Indie pop/rock band Toledo slow things down with “Que Pasa?,” a song about band member Dan Alvarez’s relationship with his dad. The song starts with listing a few chores: making the bed, hanging  a shirt, turning lights off. And yet mention of an argument. In the chorus, they sing, “Que pasa? What’s going on? What’s wrong?” The lines repeat, evoking a sense of numb tiredness. An acoustic guitar carries much of the song, the vocals just a handful of notches above a murmur. It’s all so very gentle. 

Superheart - Talk About It

Superheart’s “Talk About It” sounds like the definition of dream pop. The vocals are lush, hinting at a faraway self echo during the chorus. A tender video game-like beep loops throughout, giving the song a utopian quality. Early on, they sing, “see what good this love brings.” Such wonderment falls into the repetitive chorus:“We could talk about it. We only ever talk about it.” It’s not annoying, but rather tingly like the warm summer sun on your skin. 

Alto Key - Whisper in the Mist

With “Whisper in the Mist,” Alto Key sought to explore love, loss and hope through the tale of a bird in a winter forest being nurtured back to health. Such themes call for appropriate melodrama, as portrayed by a string quartet that grows with the song, mellowing for the verses and climaxing at the bridge. The song begins with hearing a cry and makes its way to raising the bird. The central rallying cry can be found in the chorus: “There is still hope. She’s a whisper in the mist. But I’m so tired of storming down these slopes, trying to find out who she is.” 

Brandon Hoogenboom - Hey You

Warm acoustic guitar grabs you with Brandon Hoogenboom’s “Hey You.” However, he has previously said the song is in fact about anxiety.” An upbeat strum kicks off the song and he sings, “Today I chose to sleep. My mind’s been drowning.” At the end of the first verse, Hoogenboom declares, “Got no control,” sending the vocals into a wonked out spiral that evokes the evokes the chaos that can come with anxiety. The plunging chorus keeps you on your toes, but is never jarring, and is especially exciting just before the song ends, slowly muting out.

DD Walker - Concord

DD Walker released his debut EP Malibu earlier this month. It features “Concord,” an electro indie track that pitter patters along an 80s dance track that initially makes you think Walker is going to bust out “Maniac,” but instead cools off. It’s a moment of peace before reality could set in. In the chorus, he sings, “Hell or high water. Either way, going out together.” “Concord” dreamy dance track in competition with your wildest Jack Antonoff desires. 

Matt McDermott - Whiskey Sarah

In “Whiskey Sarah,” Matt McDermott brings you in with “woah ohs” begging to be sung along. What follows is the beginning of an encounter with someone he goes on to refer to as “Whiskey Sarah.”  He sings, “Met you on the corner real late last night. You tapped me on the shoulder and asked for a light.” The track has the same charm pop punk songs have when singing about specific, intriguing, fairly reckless girls, but leans into the guitar for a feel-good sound a la alt/rock pop. 

Beach Tiger - It’s Been So Long

Beach Tiger find the right psychedelic rock balance in “It’s Been So Long,” knowing when to lay it heavy on the slow burn or poppiness. An extended guitar jam begins the song, eventually humming into a drum that kicks off the hazy, upbeat vocals. The last minute and a half or so give way to muted, angelic “la las,” eventually ending with a dripping electric guitar-focused instrumental. 

Spielbergs - Five On It

“Five On It” begins with a screeching guitar. Things don’t stay super heavy, but the Oslo natives prove they’ve created something of your childhood garage fantasy. In the chorus, they sing, “What do I do? What do I care? What do I know?” The upbeat rock track shys from the intended honesty of the song, making for a pleasant combination of vulnerability and fun, with a touch of a harder edge. 

Walden - Friends are OK

After some touring around, the Netherland-bred Walden are ready to release their first official single, “Friends are OK.” The song starts: “How has life been treating you?” “Friends are OK” comes off as the kind of indie track you play on loop in the summer, but then gets sluggish at the chorus for a break down before picking up again for the next verse. It’s full of charming quips, like “she’s leaving for the moon right outside the ladies room,” making for a wholesome 3 minutes and 40 seconds. 

Cold Engines - Money

Cold Engines are taking steps to release their next album, Kiss My Heart, come May. The step in this case is “Money,” a funky rock n roll guitar that is at its best when it shows off the horns and guitar solos. Money’s soul brings 70s nostalgia to a new generation in dire need of simple grooviness. The mantra, “You’re all about the money,” brings Bruno Mars to mind, but sidesteps such comparisons by not going too ham on the pop production. Regardless, “Money” is a song that calls for swagger and dance. 

Listen to all these songs on our playlist!

Article by: Haley Bosselman

#weekly roundup #roundup #cold engines #walden #spielbergs #dd walker #matt mcdermott #Brandon dogenboom #superheart #alto key #toldeo #jon vinyl #music #submithub #submissions #favorite submissions

[jlcomicsandgames]

Going Into Space

#animation #science fiction #music #anime #manga #cartoons #comics #robots #The Mellow Chill Quartet

[glamglaremusic]

SONG PICK: Sunbathers - The Deep End

https://i2.wp.com/glamglare.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/sunbathers-The-Deep-End.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1

Ahead of their new EP “The Pool Party” (out June 7), indie-pop rockers Sunbathers release the chill and mellow single “The Deep End” that whispers “California”. Surprisingly, the quartet calls Baltimore, MD and not LA their home, yet their melodic, sun-kissed sound could come from there; think LANY for starters. “The Deep End” delights with a blissful melody and soft, sunny and simply beautiful vibes, yet the lyrical context contrasts with these vibrant feelings. Lead vocalist Sean Lynott explains where got the inspiration for the track, seeing friends’ relationship fall apart and says:

“The push and pull was heartbreaking to watch, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. I came up with these lyrics to air those thoughts and meditate on the sense of helplessness, both of being in a position of having unrequited feelings, and of my own as a bystander. The perspective in the lyrics is not mine, but I’ve certainly been there before.”

The result is something absolutely lovely, a song one does not get tired of. Listen to “The Deep End”, our Song Pick of the Day:

Connect with Sunbathers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Listen to “The Deep End” and add it to your playlist:

Photo credit: Shane Gardner

#Sunbathers

[bruhsauraus]

Soft Jazz: “Dream” (3 Hours of Soft Jazz Saxophone Music) Fall Asleep Dreaming in Relaxation

“Dream” is a collection of very mellow, soft, and relaxing jazz standards performed by Dr. SaxLove and his jazz quartet. Relaxing instrumental music performed with an image of the moon rising over the ocean. Beautiful!

Join our Patreon Family – help us spread the love: ►https://ift.tt/2u0XPnY

Download the music from this video: ►https://ift.tt/2EfEzqF

Many of these songs are available as backing tracks at: ►https://ift.tt/2djeo2q

0:00:00 Dream 0:04:17 Waitin’ For A Train To Come In 0:08:36 Harlem Nocturne 0:14:04 Night and Day 0:18:27 Moonlight Serenade 0:24:31 It Had To Be You 0:28:30 Skylark 0:33:30 Someday My Prince Will Come 0:41:04 Misty 0:46:54 You Are Too Beautiful 0:53:52 Midnight Mood 0:58:54 My One & Only Love 1:04:59 Stardust

If you enjoy jazz standards, especially soft, slow, romantic jazz standards played on the tenor saxophone, you will absolutely love this video. These songs are jazz classics, and they’re are performed with the intention of creating a mood that is mellow, romantic, relaxing, and smooth.

The songs in this video are from these albums: ►Midnight Mood – https://ift.tt/2EfEAuJ ►Nearness – https://ift.tt/2Erk3E4 ►String Of Pearls – https://ift.tt/2Ecmv0p

Enjoy!

~Dr. SaxLove

………………………….

Dr. SaxLove specializes in smooth jazz instrumental background music. His music is intended for relaxation, study music, dinner music, gaming, sensual times, and any time. Chill saxophone music always sounds good.

This is the music of saxophonist Mark Maxwell: ►https://ift.tt/2cWHY2h

Download smooth jazz music from Dr. SaxLove here: ►https://ift.tt/2djezdX

Listen to Dr. SaxLove’s music on Spotify here: ►https://ift.tt/2fprgUE

If you enjoyed this video and would like to hear and see more, please Subscribe to the Dr. SaxLove Channel (it’s free). New videos are published weekly. ►Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/drsaxlove?sub_confirmation=1

Enjoy more of Dr. SaxLove’s Romantic Music on the Romantic Love Songs Channel: ►https://www.youtube.com/c/RomanticLoveSongsRelaxingInstrumentals

#smoothjazz #jazzmusic #jazzsaxophone #jazzinstrumental #smoothjazzinstrumental

from GDPUD Blog https://ift.tt/2EcmvNX via Article Source

#GDPUD Blog

[newstfionline]

Petting zoos at the office are the latest perk for stressed-out employees

By Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, December 1, 2017

Chris Delaney typically unwinds from his job at Discovery Communications by taking leisurely weekend drives or flipping through stacks of vinyl at used record stores. But on a recent midweek afternoon, the broadcast ingest operator was releasing his stress—right there at work—by stroking a bearded dragon, a household lizard with thankfully inert spikes.

“He’s very mellow,” Delaney said of the coldblooded creature resting on his lap. “Applying a warm hand puts this guy in a good mood.”

At the office animal party for the over-My Little Pony set, the good vibrations were flowing in both directions. How could you tell? Well, Norbert didn’t puff up his body and deploy his defenses, and Delaney didn’t rush to the medic with gouged fingertips. Quite the opposite: After finishing with Norbert, he requested a cuddle with another member of the visiting menagerie from Squeals on Wheels, a traveling petting zoo based in Potomac, Md.

“I think my favorite was the rabbit,” Delaney said after several failed attempts to soothe an African pygmy hedgehog named Tweedledee. (Or was it his brother, Tweedledum? Hard to know, because all hedgehogs act like twitchy acupuncturists.)

At the mention of his name, Rex the Velveteen rabbit attempted an escape, thumping his head against the cover of his wooden bin. Perhaps he needed an animal to hold, too.

In these anxious times, the embattled masses are resorting to all manner of succor. We meditate in the morning and drink a stiff one after work. Yell at traffic on the way to laughter yoga. Binge on Netflix all night and down cup after cup of pour-over coffee the next morning.

And now, with the rise of office animal parties, you can stroke a bunny, cradle a puppy or massage a tortoise’s neck on company time. If your colleagues or clients grow irate over unanswered emails, tell them to submit a complaint to Slinky, the blue-tongued skink.

“Animals make the environment less stress-y,” says Alan Beck, director of the Center of the Animal-Human Bond at Purdue University. “When you talk to another person, your blood pressure goes up. When you talk to animals, it goes down.”

During the tensest time of the year, Dawn Bailey, director of human resources at Aronson accounting firm in Rockville, Md., arranges special treats for her bleary-eyed accountants. For this tax season, she hired Squeals on Wheels. “All I wanted to see was the teacup pig running down the hallway,” she said. Unfortunately, that fantasy didn’t fly, as the oinker couldn’t breach the conference room.

Workplace stress is a real affliction, of course, but so is Instagram-oholism, especially among millennials. Which makes the office animal parties a major draw.

“We don’t put ordinary experiences from the office on our social feed,” notes Jeff Fromm, an author of books on the millennial generation, “just the extraordinary.”

The unconventional perks can also help employees forget—or at least forgive—their long work hours. Your 12-hour day may prevent you from owning a dog, but you can frolic with one on the clock.

“For many people today, particularly millennials, there is a definite blurring of the line between personal life and work,” said Jason Dorsey, president and co-founder of the Center for Generational Kinetics in Austin. “Millennials often know they won’t be able to retire, so why not have fun at work?”

Thanks to this trend, animal facilities across the country are accumulating miles on their little red wagons. Honey Hill Farm has led camels to a shipping logistics provider in Cincinnati (for Hump Day, of course) and released hopping kangaroos in its hallways. Brooklyn’s Foster Dogs has let its rescue pups loose at various New York offices. Austin-based Tiny Tails to You has chilled out such pressure-cooker players as Apple, Facebook, Dell and Whole Foods.

Of course, animal encounters during business hours can involve some risk, so keep a spare shirt and dry shampoo in your desk drawer.

“I don’t want her to go to the bathroom in your hair,” Squeals on Wheels’ Grant Phillips warned a Nest DC employee as a chicken blazed a northward trail.

Nest DC, a property management company, can’t seem to kick the critter habit. For its third Squeals on Wheels event in two years, some of the guests returned, but others didn’t receive an invitation.

“We didn’t bring the ducks this time,” said Grant, “because they kind of made a mess last year.”

Better-behaving birds Delilah and Henrietta, both bantam chicks, did attend. Baby teacup pig Thumbelina came wrapped in, yes, a blanket and slept through most of the two-hour stay. Nothing could rouse her. Not the squeaks of the guinea pigs or the carousel ride of hands passing her around like a hairy infant.

“I think everyone would be so much nicer if they could cuddle a pig once a week,” said Grace Langham, chief executive of Nest DC.

Employees at Dataprise in Rockville also discovered the calming effect of nuzzling with creatures, but their Xanax was puppies.

“I juggle multiple tasks,” said Charlie Chiochankitmun, a program manager, “so it’s nice to juggle multiple puppies instead.”

Homeward Trails Rescue Center in Fairfax Station, Va., supplied the quartet of pups, who ran, wrestled and relieved themselves around the break room. Employee Sarah Tabor raced over to a puddle in high-heeled boots, paper towels in hand.

Eight-week-old Taisha, Taima and Tabora scrambled down a hallway. Taima paused for a quick chew on an elegant green suede shoe still attached to a foot.

“It’s hard to be stressed with puppies running around,” said Katie Zelonka as she watched them dash past. “I don’t know how much we’re getting done, though. I should get back to my email.”

After 90 minutes, the puppies passed out under a kitchen table and the employees grudgingly returned to work, the dog hair on their clothes and the bite marks on their shoes serving as reminders to relax.

#workplace stress #petting zoo at office #Squeals on Wheels