a picture of her: History Repeats Itself

One listen, and this one was a bit odd. There were times where I was writing a good bit behind where the song was and I’d snap back but then fall behind again pretty soon after. So a lot of trying to catch up. I think that because of that, this is much closer to what I initially wanted to do with this form of writing.

I don’t think what I wrote works as well as it could, but I’m happy with the result.

a picture of her’s “History Repeats itself” is from C.

I hope you enjoy.

The guitars hum a breath, then a brief, rough string strike. Another hum; more string striking. Some notes draw out a bit. Percussion comes in and everything starts coming more to life, more awake, and those rough strikes reveal themselves part of a pattern, and everything locks into each other.

The percussion plays rough and excitedly, almost. The guitars and bass seem awkward, but are instead smooth and deliberate, The sounds strike out in angles with intent, and they play with an energy whilst holding onto the calm.

The sounds come to a point where they become more obviously organised, and still play together, but seem a little apart. They move and play their parts, and the guitars seem to take turns whilst remaining tight.

It’s not long before there’s a bit more of a looseness; a slinkiness to the sounds. The bass plays more continuously and almost a field is painted. The percussion stays driving but remains calm.

Another section is eventually reached and its brushes, and the percussion grows louder whilst the guitar sweeps across. And it all locks in and drives forward until a moment where just the guitars are almost singing as though the katydids in a cool evening. They grow louder, and percussion comes back in. They twinkle and the percussion plays gentle, and bass starts striking specific notes, and all seems rising. The bass lowers, but all seems rising, but it almost never was, if it was at all.

The percussion comes in more full and seems to move in swaying steps, and the guitar changes and shifts, and some of it brushes once more. One guitar rises and brushes and glides upon frayed wings, and it grows louder whilst the bass, other guitar and percussion keep it steady; they are there, keeping everything moving forward whilst this guitar grows louder and more ragged, in a burst of energy, making its mark as an emotive moment.

A sudden noise and now everything is pummeling away, pushing into the moment, expanding into mass and energy and raging joy and sadness and all sorts of things until a sudden noise once more that stops at silence as the song ends.

 

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hiroyuki Togo: Reincarnation ~ To the Sea, to the Sky, and Then…

One listen.

I’m looking over this and I’m a little surprised that I wrote this as easily as I did. It was very smooth to write and I think that comes through, but I think I could’ve been a little more vivid in places.

Hiroyuki Togo’s (ーゴ・ヒロユキ) “Reincarnation ~ To the Sea, to the Sky, and Then…” (“輪廻〜海、空へ そして・・・”) is from Aqua Cycle (アクア サイクル).

I hope you enjoy.

Keys and a shimmering, and the keys descend. They rose and now they descend, and then some space. Space for a vibration; a hum. The keys seem to dance a little before another pause. Then things fill out.

There’s a grandness; a drama of the old and found in the celebration of the new, but an uncertainty finds itself coming in. An uncertainty of what could be next; what could come forward, and perhaps a sadness too. Sadness in what is lost in the disappearance of the familiar. The new might be the same, but it is not necessarily the same.

A sudden strike on the keys, as though a thunk, and everything else fades out. Eventually silence is all there is, but it does not last; the sound of water dripping breaks the stillness of nothing, and it continues on until the song ends.

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unwound: Sonata for Loudspeakers

One listen, and I think I got a lot out for this one. It’s a linear writing and it’s a bit loose, too. It doesn’t read as well as it could, but I captured the song well.

Unwound’s “Sonata for Loudspeakers” is from Challenge for a Civilized Society.

I hope you enjoy.

A sound of sorts before the percussion comes in, and that sound remains. It’s quiet, almost. Another, like a string being hit in an unexpected way before guitar fills out the space, with bass somewhere in there, playing with a fragility. The percussion takes on more space and they follow this sort of descent before switching around.

Guitar is playing with a bit more life, as is bass though bass remains quiet, but prominent. Percussion plays a bit more full, and soon everything really comes to life. Everything becomes big, but remains quiet. But there’s more energy there before shifting to something similar to the first section.

A bit more ragged, however, and a few more angles; a few more corners. There’s a darkness to it; a bite and menace, but it’s not the whole thing, and it’s not long before there’s a bit more space again. It’s a bit more space and reflection perhaps. It feels like a winding down, almost, though it clearly isn’t.

Back to that section before becoming livelier again, and it seems to hold in the air before the greater release, which seems to last a little less time than previously. A bite and menace once more before something that could either be a violin or synth comes in to add its own shape and colour. And soon it’s brass, though it may have been there before, and it descends, almost, and rises and falls over this ragged landscape before leaving. Soon after, the other sounds stop and the song ends.

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flipper’s Guitar: Aquamarine

One listen.

I hit a wall with this one. I think what would have worked best is if I moved away from trying to describe the song as it was happening early on, because trying to keep going with that didn’t help. Maybe I could’ve used this to explore memory in a way that I probably have before. Maybe dug deeper into imagery from smeared or blurred sound.

Flipper’s Guitar’s “Aquamarine” is from Doctor Head’s World Tower.

I hope you enjoy.

Warm memory rushing on, and some sounds could be definable. A voice is. But it’s all warped and flowing, and moving as though blurred motion. Another voice comes through now, and it seems disconnected, almost. It’s there, but it’s disconnected.

A beat comes in and the form takes greater shape. The beat plays simple and familiar. It plays out and follows what came before, and those vocals seem to be slightly less vague shapes coming from the mass.

Everything keeps moving, keeps drifting, keeps vague. Keeps muffled and hazy, keeps drawing long and remains seemingly weightless. The percussion remains steady; the only thing serving as anything remotely considerable as an anchor.

Eventually something seems to push and harm the body, as though it’s trying to get out, trying to force its way, trying to find a weakness to burst from, but before it can, as the sounds fade, suddenly the song ends.

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1549: I will Churn

Will today be the churn day that I thought yesterday would be? I doubt it, but there’s only one way to find out, really. I can only find out by… churning.

I will churn. I will churn like I’ve churned before. I will see what doesn’t come forward and I will feel myself drained by the end of it all. I will wait for one of my housemates to finish their forty-minute shower, then when the water bill comes in, blame how high it is on something else instead of his quite regularly having these long odysseys. Because the ownership of responsibility comes in short supply, I suppose.

That’s a bit biting and a bit mean, but I’m quite tired of the kind of wastefulness people exhibit, then express surprise when the results of that come back. I’m a bit burned out and I’m quite tired, and I’m over this kind of silliness. I’m over people just refusing to understand the kind of damage they do, and then refusing to take accountability. Especially over people claiming they are accountable for their actions before leaving someone else to handle anything that’s the result of what they’ve done. Fun times.

Not bitter about things at all. Not at all. Not at all.

Anyway.

So I’m trying to churn and write and I’m trying to find where all the pieces fit, and I’m trying to not pick them up anymore. I’m trying to get on with my life and I’m all sorts of tired, which also means I’m rather weak in my resisting sugar but I’m yet to yield at this particular juncture in time. That’s a good thing. I think. I don’t know.

But I’m trying to churn and I’m trying to repeat and I’m trying to take up as many words and as much space as I can, and I realise that I’m writing slower than I’d like. I’m also realising that there are other things I need to be doing right now and I am not doing them and that’s not good, but that’s what it is at the moment. But I’ll get to them soon enough, but just not now. Later, in another world. In another life, though that’ll be soon enough. Or it won’t, because things are yet to be decided, even though they are decided, or not decided.

I’m just dragging this out now.

So, somewhere around one hundred words left before I move onto the next thing and I think I mainly wanted to talk about being lazy which is not what I’ve done much of. Such is everything and such is life, and I’ll just keep on going with the laziness. I can’t stop now. Won’t stop. Never stop; just keep on going into it and drive further and maybe, somehow I’ll get the sleep I so desperately desire to experience, and… where am I going with this?

So in conclusion, I think there’s some things I need to do before I don’t do them.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:51:47

Could’ve been much, much better. Didn’t end up churning that day. Still a bit behind.

Written at home.

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Grills

I don’t know what this is for. I don’t think it has an entrance. At least I’ve never seen one, but I can only imagine that there is a way into the space.

I hope you enjoy.

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hand Wings

More hand stuff, and one that sort of produces a result that looks like wings. Of a bird? Maybe. Of a butterfly? Perhaps. The hands suggest; they could be any set of wings… almost.

Maybe manta ray wings.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-seventy-sixth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Wings“.

The host of the Lens-Artists challenges cycles weekly between the following people:

Tina

Patti

Ann-Christine aka Leya

John Steiner

Sofia Alves

Anne Sandler

Egídio

Ritva

Beth

This one is curated by Beth. The next one is curated by Leya.

I recommend joining the community and participating in the challenges. They’re pretty straightforward, allow room for interpretation, and provide a good way to think about photography in general. If not, however, then at the very least you should check out what others submit to the challenges.

I hope you enjoy.

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Delerium: Absolution

One listen and it was an easy and challenging write at the same time. Somewhere during I started looking for the right words as what I was writing wasn’t getting things across as well as I wanted. I think the end result represents the song well enough, but it could be much better.

Delerium’s “Absolution” is from Signs.

I hope you enjoy.

Synth arpeggiates and flutters, and it seems peaceful, or relieving, or confident, maybe. It seems to be letting go and looking forward, and as it does a voice comes in, detached, firmly grounded and echoing throughout. Voice goes, a new sound comes in, and that original synth seems to disappear and still be there.

The voice returns and an idea of strings fills out the space, and it’s all still detached and firmly there. It’s all close and far away, and perhaps really bright, too. Bright and raining down shininess in an idyllic space.

The original synth is there, and new sounds appear and sort of emphasise, and then it all changes and everything seems to rise and have a bit of sadness to it, but also a sense of easing into a calm excitement. And it seems to get brighter and brighter, but also doesn’t, and at least more dramatic.

A sudden thunk and percussion joins as the main melody comes back, and there’s less space. More sound comes in and there’s more energy, and perhaps joy, or acceptance and going on, but it’s still calm in wisps and hums, and soon everything stops and the song ends.

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1548: The Same Questions as Always

What am I going to write? I’ve been lazy over the past few weeks and I’ve been so lazy that I’m rusty. Either that, or I just don’t miss doing this, and that’s fine. So I guess I’m going to drag myself through this and work through everything and slowly trudge my way to the finish line, wherever that lies. If I even care.

I think that, perhaps, over the last decade and more, I’ve been writing because I enjoy it and I’ve been looking for something, but maybe, just maybe it also was a coping mechanism. I don’t know. I still have a joy for it, but I also don’t and I’m just forcing this right now. That’s not good. But maybe it needs to be done. Or something.

Why am I breaking down my sentences so much?

So anyway, sitting here at Duoly Rob. Thinking about things. Wondering if I don’t have it in me anymore. Wondering if I should just stop now. You know. All those things. What’s my value as a writer? Do I have any value? Have I offered anything? So it’s the usual questions and the usual questions are being asked in the usual manner.

I’m wondering why I do this to myself, and I’m wondering why I continue. Right now, maybe it’s difficult. I haven’t had enough sleep, but I’ve had a good breakfast. But also, I don’t feel the need to write. I don’t feel the drive. I’m still going to write today, and I’m going to write a lot, but right now I don’t feel it. I don’t feel compelled to write. And that’s okay.

Still, I’m going to push on for a few more months. Just until the end of this space. Maybe I’ll feel better after all of that. I don’t know. I could. I might. But I’m not trying to think that far ahead, because I just want to focus on what I’m doing now, which is churning out a lot of crap and doing a good job of being crap at churning out crap. This place is full of it; might as well keep on going and get it all out there. Get it all done and written and then move to wherever and whatever comes next, which is already here but it’s a bit asleep at the moment.

I think that I’ve probably spent too much time talking crap, and have done so willingly, and maybe lockdown did more damage than I thought it did. I know I was fine for a good while, but bad habits have a way of cementing themselves if you don’t keep them in check, and I’m quite certain I didn’t.

Anyway, today is going to be a good day, and I imagine that, by the time I get to work, I’ll probably feel a bit better. I’ll probably feel a bit better about some, and not all things, and then I’ll crap on for a while and then head home.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:57:97

Could’ve been better.

Written at Dirty Red

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Knuckle Eyes

This was taken a few weeks ago with the person I’m seeing; their hand being the one on the right. It’s interesting hand stuff to me, with the way there’s sort of a smoothness to our hands in terms of form. Almost organic. What really interests me though is how my knuckles look like eyes. It’s a bit uncomfortable.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. The next one is hosted by me, and I have chosen the theme of “The Space Between”.

This challenge is open to all, and I recommend joining in. If want to, check out more information about it here, and include the tag “monochrome-madness” when you share your photo. If you’d prefer not to join in, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography, and what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment