Jukebox 2014: Dear Author Letter
Hello, author! I'm very much looking forward to reading fic for one of these songs, and I hope you're looking forward to writing it! I'm pretty easygoing, so don't stress and panic too much.
(A note: I requested several of these songs last year, and haven't changed my requests for those at all, so if you read my letter last year, it's mostly the same.)
General likes: Relationships (romantic (het or femslash), platonic, familial), ambiguity, struggles with identity, trust issues, romance, bittersweet or melancholy tones, unrequited love, longing, happy endings, people who really understand each other, friends to lovers, anthropomorfic, various explorations of the concept of love.
Dislikes: Character death, torture, kidfic, abuse, woobification, beastiality.
Rating: I don't really have a preference on rating; anything from perfectly family-friendly up to explicit smut is fine with me.
On to the songs!
Daphne - Lia Ices
Daphne in the wood, you'll become the wood
Fire in his eye's gone and fueled your flight so high
Over the river rocks, the wind will carry thee
Call on nature now, for she'll keep you safe
From your own beauty
A heavy numbness seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root, arm to branch and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
A heavy numbness seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root, arm to branch and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
And in the end it's the difference of the spirit and the matter
It's the difference of the lover and the flyer
Don't it make you want to cry?
It's nothing less, nothing less between the worldly
And the one self
All this breathing and the truth that's in your last breath
Don't it make you want to cry?
So fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
Yeah, fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
I love this song. I'd known the myth of Daphne and Apollo for ages, but it had never really been one of my favorites (rapey Apollo is just gross) until I heard this song and got a whole new perspective on it (I also revisited the myth and discovered Ovid's version, in which Apollo is still kinda rapey, but as he's been screwed over by Eros, it's not exactly his fault).
What gets me is the second half of the song (after 3:10, And in the end it's the difference of the spirit and the matter), when Justin Vernon's vocals come in, which I interpret as being Apollo. If we're going with the Ovid version of the myth, where he wasn't in control of his actions, it makes sense that he'd be upset by what he caused, that he'd be repentant towards Daphne (Don't it make you want to cry?), that he'd want to honor her (wear you like a leaf crown). The difference between their perspectives is everything here - It's the difference of the lover and the flyer/don't it make you want to cry? Neither of them meant for this to happen.
What I'd like: A story where Apollo and Daphne were friends before Eros went on his vengeful shooting spree, and her resulting feelings of betrayal as she flees, and his guilt and angst once he realizes what he's done, and how he tries to make amends to her even though she's safely beyond caring. Or if you'd prefer, something that goes into her feelings during the transformation, and what she sees from her new perspective as a part of a nature.
I Remember - Damien Rice
I remember it well
The first time that I saw
Your head around the door
'Cause mine stopped working
I remember it well
There was wet in your hair
I was stood in the stairs
And time stopped moving
I want you here tonight
I want you here
'Cause I can't believe what I found
Oh, and you're here and I want you here
Nothing is taking me down, down, down
I remember it well
Taxied out of a storm
To watch you perform
And my ships were sailing
I remember it well
I was stood in your line
And your mouth, your mouth, your mind
I want you here tonight
I want you here
'Cause I can't believe what I found
Oh, and you're here and I want you here
Nothing is taking me down, down, down
Except you my love.
Except you my love
Come all ye lost
Dive into moss
I hope that my sanity covers the cost
To remove the stain of my love
Paper mache
Come all ye reborn
Blow off my horn
I'm driving real hard
This is love, this is porn
God will forgive me
But I, I whip myself with scorn, scorn
I want to hear what you have to say about me
Hear if you're gonna live without me
I want to hear what you want
I remember December
And I want to hear what you have to say about me
Hear if you're gonna live without me
I want to hear what you want
What the hell do you want?
The intriguing thing about this song is the contrast between the two parts. Lisa Hannigan's part is so sweet, so hopeful and gentle and in love. Damien's part, in contrast, is full of rage and cacophony and bitterness. What happens between them to turn her hopes on end, to make him so angry? Is he angry at her, or just at himself for screwing things up or not being good enough? Or is he not angry at all, and his part is simply the song she's “taxied out of a storm/ to watch [him] perform”? And if that's the case, does she still feel the same about him after seeing the kind of feelings he has hidden?
What I'd like: An expansion on the story already in the song. I'd like to see the details of her being taken with him at first sight and falling in love with him, and what then happens between them to make him so bitter. Or maybe there's no relationship at all; maybe she just loves him from afar and he realizes he's far too messed up to be a good choice for anybody, even if he might want to be. Either way, I want to hear about it.
Almost - Sarah Harmer
I almost dialed your number
When I thought the coast was clear
'Cause it's looked up for so long at me
And said "Call me please."
But the place was closing
And the counter girl turned the sign
The cooks were getting their coats and I got mine
And said "Goodnight" to the sea of empty seats.
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
I see my mouth moving when I talk to you
I do
I see my lips and I feel like a kid
Who can't keep something hid.
'Cause I've been under the paper
you were writin' on
You left your impression long after you'd gone on me
marks only I can see
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
When we say sometime later
You know that we don't say when
You have blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
I almost dialed your number
When I thought the coast was clear
'Cause it's looked up for so long at me
And said "Call me, please."
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
When we say sometime later
You know that we don't say when
You have blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
Roused my dreams
Sailor, to Wind
This song is all about wanderlust personified to me, about wanting something more than what you have, even if it's a sort of formless longing, like the wind. The tone of it is interesting - it's a very hopeful, almost cheeky tone. Maybe the singer isn't actually going to run off with the object of her lust, but she clearly really, really wants to, no matter how bad of an idea it might be.
What I'd like: I would love a historical type fic for this (despite the frequent mentions of phone calls!); I've always pictured the singer as a girl who really wants to leave her tiny port town and sail the world, and the roguish sailor who's captured her attention. The same scenario works in the modern world too, though - anything with the girl taking the leap and getting to live out her dreams, whether that means following a particular person or heading for a dream adventure/destination/whatever.
Oh Henry - The Civil Wars
Oh, the grass is green
Everywhere but under me
Or so it seems
Got a wedding band
In the name of a wandering man
Who I love the best I can
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
Boy if you're smart
You know you'll only have my heart
'til death do us part
Oh, you and I both know
That at the end of that forbidden road
There's a six-foot hole
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
When we wed, we said forever ever and a day
The whole town heard you promise to be true
So boy, you're gonna only give your gypsy heart to me
If it's the last thing you do
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
Oh one more grave in this town
I love how very angry she sounds. She clearly loves Henry, or is at least obsessed with having him, and the idea that he's cheated on her and made her look foolish has driven her into a murderous rage. But at the same time, she's giving him a chance to come clean, and it's possible he's innocent. I also enjoy the implied threat that he's some kind of outsider, and the whole town would be behind her if it came down to it, like maybe this kind of thing has happened before and this is the kind of town that takes vows and adultery very seriously indeed. After all, why are there so many graves already in town? Maybe this nice guy named Henry stumbles into this strange, isolated town, falls in love and marries a wonderful girl, and then slowly realizes things aren't quite right here...
What I'd like: Tell me what happens to Henry and his vengeful wife. Was he actually cheating? Does she murder him herself, or get her brothers/friends/the whole town to gang up on him? Maybe he wasn't cheating at all and gets killed anyhow and it's a tragedy. Or maybe he wasn't cheating and they figure out the gossips in town are trying to ruin them, and they turn their vengeance outwards! Or maybe he just runs away like a great big coward and she follows him across continents, always haunting him wherever he goes. Any of these work for me, just tell me how it ends!
Landsailor - Vienna Teng
Landsailor
Landsailor, sail on time
Rain or shine, I know you can
Cloudraker
Cloudraker, share your finds
All your wonders at my demand
Lightbringer
Tamer of night
Blossom of hours unleashed
Make me a lawbender
All equalized
Saved from the chill and heat
Your power flows through me transformed
Here’s where I was born
Landsailor
Deepwinter strawberry
Endless summer, ever spring
A vast preserve
Aisle after aisle in reach
Every commoner made a king
Earthbreaker
Noble and prized
Feed me beyond my means
Hello, Worldmaker
Never denied
Build all my wildest dreams
But there’s a storm outside your door
And I’m a child no more
[Glen Phillips]
Headless and faceless
Tireless and seamless behind these walls
This is my progress
When you don’t notice my lines at all
I split the world open
Delve ever deeper in my alchemic arts
I crack the ciphers to free up your mind, your life, your heart
[Vienna Teng and (Glen Phillips)]
Oh Landsailor (I’m your Landsailor)
In the bed that we’ve made (In the bed that we’ve made)
May every nail be shown (May every nail be shown)
Great Lifebringer (Great Lifebringer)
The price that we pay (The price that we pay)
Time that you made it known (Time that you made it known)
I want to be your bride in full (Oh be my bride in full)
Shield my eyes no more (Shield your eyes no more)
Oh I am altered now for good (Altered now for good)
Shield these eyes no more (Shield these eyes no more)
The idea that humanity can fall in love with its own inventions, and their conceptions of them, really appeals to me, and probably to most of us participating in this fest - after all, we all love the internet or we wouldn't be here. And the internet (and electricity, and many other advancements throughout history), really are things worthy of loving on a wide scope. They do help bring people together, and help equalize people, with so much information and possibility becoming available to anyone with technological access. It makes the world a wider place, and that's well worth loving.
What I'd like: I've heard Vienna Teng say that this is a love song between humanity and technology, or humanity and capitalism; I think it works as a love song between humanity and any sort of advancement that changed the world - fire, electricity, the internet, the printing press. Whatever concept works for you, or maybe all of them at once through different ages! Feel free to make the non-human partner totally anthropomorphized if you want, or keep it on a fully metaphorical level, either works for me.
(A note: I requested several of these songs last year, and haven't changed my requests for those at all, so if you read my letter last year, it's mostly the same.)
General likes: Relationships (romantic (het or femslash), platonic, familial), ambiguity, struggles with identity, trust issues, romance, bittersweet or melancholy tones, unrequited love, longing, happy endings, people who really understand each other, friends to lovers, anthropomorfic, various explorations of the concept of love.
Dislikes: Character death, torture, kidfic, abuse, woobification, beastiality.
Rating: I don't really have a preference on rating; anything from perfectly family-friendly up to explicit smut is fine with me.
On to the songs!
Daphne - Lia Ices
Daphne in the wood, you'll become the wood
Fire in his eye's gone and fueled your flight so high
Over the river rocks, the wind will carry thee
Call on nature now, for she'll keep you safe
From your own beauty
A heavy numbness seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root, arm to branch and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
A heavy numbness seizes her into bark
Feet so swift to root, arm to branch and hair to leaf
Woman to tree
And in the end it's the difference of the spirit and the matter
It's the difference of the lover and the flyer
Don't it make you want to cry?
It's nothing less, nothing less between the worldly
And the one self
All this breathing and the truth that's in your last breath
Don't it make you want to cry?
So fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
Yeah, fly, fly and we'll wear you like a leaf crown
Fly cause your truth is in the solid ground
Fly
I love this song. I'd known the myth of Daphne and Apollo for ages, but it had never really been one of my favorites (rapey Apollo is just gross) until I heard this song and got a whole new perspective on it (I also revisited the myth and discovered Ovid's version, in which Apollo is still kinda rapey, but as he's been screwed over by Eros, it's not exactly his fault).
What gets me is the second half of the song (after 3:10, And in the end it's the difference of the spirit and the matter), when Justin Vernon's vocals come in, which I interpret as being Apollo. If we're going with the Ovid version of the myth, where he wasn't in control of his actions, it makes sense that he'd be upset by what he caused, that he'd be repentant towards Daphne (Don't it make you want to cry?), that he'd want to honor her (wear you like a leaf crown). The difference between their perspectives is everything here - It's the difference of the lover and the flyer/don't it make you want to cry? Neither of them meant for this to happen.
What I'd like: A story where Apollo and Daphne were friends before Eros went on his vengeful shooting spree, and her resulting feelings of betrayal as she flees, and his guilt and angst once he realizes what he's done, and how he tries to make amends to her even though she's safely beyond caring. Or if you'd prefer, something that goes into her feelings during the transformation, and what she sees from her new perspective as a part of a nature.
I Remember - Damien Rice
I remember it well
The first time that I saw
Your head around the door
'Cause mine stopped working
I remember it well
There was wet in your hair
I was stood in the stairs
And time stopped moving
I want you here tonight
I want you here
'Cause I can't believe what I found
Oh, and you're here and I want you here
Nothing is taking me down, down, down
I remember it well
Taxied out of a storm
To watch you perform
And my ships were sailing
I remember it well
I was stood in your line
And your mouth, your mouth, your mind
I want you here tonight
I want you here
'Cause I can't believe what I found
Oh, and you're here and I want you here
Nothing is taking me down, down, down
Except you my love.
Except you my love
Come all ye lost
Dive into moss
I hope that my sanity covers the cost
To remove the stain of my love
Paper mache
Come all ye reborn
Blow off my horn
I'm driving real hard
This is love, this is porn
God will forgive me
But I, I whip myself with scorn, scorn
I want to hear what you have to say about me
Hear if you're gonna live without me
I want to hear what you want
I remember December
And I want to hear what you have to say about me
Hear if you're gonna live without me
I want to hear what you want
What the hell do you want?
The intriguing thing about this song is the contrast between the two parts. Lisa Hannigan's part is so sweet, so hopeful and gentle and in love. Damien's part, in contrast, is full of rage and cacophony and bitterness. What happens between them to turn her hopes on end, to make him so angry? Is he angry at her, or just at himself for screwing things up or not being good enough? Or is he not angry at all, and his part is simply the song she's “taxied out of a storm/ to watch [him] perform”? And if that's the case, does she still feel the same about him after seeing the kind of feelings he has hidden?
What I'd like: An expansion on the story already in the song. I'd like to see the details of her being taken with him at first sight and falling in love with him, and what then happens between them to make him so bitter. Or maybe there's no relationship at all; maybe she just loves him from afar and he realizes he's far too messed up to be a good choice for anybody, even if he might want to be. Either way, I want to hear about it.
Almost - Sarah Harmer
I almost dialed your number
When I thought the coast was clear
'Cause it's looked up for so long at me
And said "Call me please."
But the place was closing
And the counter girl turned the sign
The cooks were getting their coats and I got mine
And said "Goodnight" to the sea of empty seats.
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
I see my mouth moving when I talk to you
I do
I see my lips and I feel like a kid
Who can't keep something hid.
'Cause I've been under the paper
you were writin' on
You left your impression long after you'd gone on me
marks only I can see
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
When we say sometime later
You know that we don't say when
You have blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
I almost dialed your number
When I thought the coast was clear
'Cause it's looked up for so long at me
And said "Call me, please."
And if I am a sailor
You are the warm gulf wind
And you've blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
When we say sometime later
You know that we don't say when
You have blown into this little port
And roused my dreams again.
Roused my dreams
Sailor, to Wind
This song is all about wanderlust personified to me, about wanting something more than what you have, even if it's a sort of formless longing, like the wind. The tone of it is interesting - it's a very hopeful, almost cheeky tone. Maybe the singer isn't actually going to run off with the object of her lust, but she clearly really, really wants to, no matter how bad of an idea it might be.
What I'd like: I would love a historical type fic for this (despite the frequent mentions of phone calls!); I've always pictured the singer as a girl who really wants to leave her tiny port town and sail the world, and the roguish sailor who's captured her attention. The same scenario works in the modern world too, though - anything with the girl taking the leap and getting to live out her dreams, whether that means following a particular person or heading for a dream adventure/destination/whatever.
Oh Henry - The Civil Wars
Oh, the grass is green
Everywhere but under me
Or so it seems
Got a wedding band
In the name of a wandering man
Who I love the best I can
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
Boy if you're smart
You know you'll only have my heart
'til death do us part
Oh, you and I both know
That at the end of that forbidden road
There's a six-foot hole
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
When we wed, we said forever ever and a day
The whole town heard you promise to be true
So boy, you're gonna only give your gypsy heart to me
If it's the last thing you do
Oh Henry, have you got something to tell me?
'Cause everybody's been sayin
You been runnin' around
Oh Henry, I know you wouldn't hurt me
Don't you know that we don't need
One more grave in this town
Oh one more grave in this town
I love how very angry she sounds. She clearly loves Henry, or is at least obsessed with having him, and the idea that he's cheated on her and made her look foolish has driven her into a murderous rage. But at the same time, she's giving him a chance to come clean, and it's possible he's innocent. I also enjoy the implied threat that he's some kind of outsider, and the whole town would be behind her if it came down to it, like maybe this kind of thing has happened before and this is the kind of town that takes vows and adultery very seriously indeed. After all, why are there so many graves already in town? Maybe this nice guy named Henry stumbles into this strange, isolated town, falls in love and marries a wonderful girl, and then slowly realizes things aren't quite right here...
What I'd like: Tell me what happens to Henry and his vengeful wife. Was he actually cheating? Does she murder him herself, or get her brothers/friends/the whole town to gang up on him? Maybe he wasn't cheating at all and gets killed anyhow and it's a tragedy. Or maybe he wasn't cheating and they figure out the gossips in town are trying to ruin them, and they turn their vengeance outwards! Or maybe he just runs away like a great big coward and she follows him across continents, always haunting him wherever he goes. Any of these work for me, just tell me how it ends!
Landsailor - Vienna Teng
Landsailor
Landsailor, sail on time
Rain or shine, I know you can
Cloudraker
Cloudraker, share your finds
All your wonders at my demand
Lightbringer
Tamer of night
Blossom of hours unleashed
Make me a lawbender
All equalized
Saved from the chill and heat
Your power flows through me transformed
Here’s where I was born
Landsailor
Deepwinter strawberry
Endless summer, ever spring
A vast preserve
Aisle after aisle in reach
Every commoner made a king
Earthbreaker
Noble and prized
Feed me beyond my means
Hello, Worldmaker
Never denied
Build all my wildest dreams
But there’s a storm outside your door
And I’m a child no more
[Glen Phillips]
Headless and faceless
Tireless and seamless behind these walls
This is my progress
When you don’t notice my lines at all
I split the world open
Delve ever deeper in my alchemic arts
I crack the ciphers to free up your mind, your life, your heart
[Vienna Teng and (Glen Phillips)]
Oh Landsailor (I’m your Landsailor)
In the bed that we’ve made (In the bed that we’ve made)
May every nail be shown (May every nail be shown)
Great Lifebringer (Great Lifebringer)
The price that we pay (The price that we pay)
Time that you made it known (Time that you made it known)
I want to be your bride in full (Oh be my bride in full)
Shield my eyes no more (Shield your eyes no more)
Oh I am altered now for good (Altered now for good)
Shield these eyes no more (Shield these eyes no more)
The idea that humanity can fall in love with its own inventions, and their conceptions of them, really appeals to me, and probably to most of us participating in this fest - after all, we all love the internet or we wouldn't be here. And the internet (and electricity, and many other advancements throughout history), really are things worthy of loving on a wide scope. They do help bring people together, and help equalize people, with so much information and possibility becoming available to anyone with technological access. It makes the world a wider place, and that's well worth loving.
What I'd like: I've heard Vienna Teng say that this is a love song between humanity and technology, or humanity and capitalism; I think it works as a love song between humanity and any sort of advancement that changed the world - fire, electricity, the internet, the printing press. Whatever concept works for you, or maybe all of them at once through different ages! Feel free to make the non-human partner totally anthropomorphized if you want, or keep it on a fully metaphorical level, either works for me.