Jukebox Letter 2018
Apr. 7th, 2018 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
measured_wordsDear Jukebox Operator:
Thank you very much for writing something for me. I want to say first of all that if you have a strong idea about what you want to write, please feel free to run with it! I have tried to give some general ideas of things that I think might be cool for the stories, but for the most part I'm pretty open to interpretations. I'm okay with any rating, I don't have any real squicks or triggers. I like things that are scary and creepy and straight up horrific, but I also like things that a cute or funny or fluffy (though I'm not sure if any of the songs I picked really lean that way). I don't need happy endings, but I do enjoy them. If you have different ideas though, lemme have 'em! I like character introspection, I like world building, I like plot. I like porn, but I prefer plot to go with it. I don't know if any of these really lend themselves to porn, but if you think differently, lemme have it! Really, go wild! I'm pretty easy to please! Also, I am super into the idea of crossovers between any of the songs I'm requesting - I think some of them could go together pretty interestingly, so if there's an idea that strikes you along those lines please have at.
I am really excited for this fest, possibly more than is rational. I have a longstanding love of folk music and other forms of ballads and song-stories, and I like thinking about what we don't know as much as what we do. The canons we have to work with here are mostly pretty loose, and I'm excited to see where people go with them. I recognize that this is a lot closer to original fic than most fandom-fests, and I appreciate that it can be harder to make things up whole cloth, so really, thank you! Write what you want, what inspires you, and hopefully what is below has some good ideas if you're feeling lost!
It you are a podficer or a podfic team - I'm super excited, as I've never received a podfic for an exchange before! I think writing a story you know is destined for an aural medium is a cool challenge, and I know the recording of a podfic can be pretty challenging itself, so major props for offering! In this case, since the canon is also aural I think it is an especially interesting pairing! I am a big fan of podcasted/podficed short fiction, but I don't know if I can give any specific likes/dislikes /o\
If you are an artist - I actually really enjoy pieces that have more abstract or symbolic elements to them, so if you want to play with themes and atmosphere rather than create something strictly representational from any of the songs I have requested, please feel free! I don't know if that makes things easier or not, but I appreciate you putting your talents to use for me, in whatever medium!
I am requesting Fanfic, Fanart, or Podfic for all requests (but treats in any media would be a delight).
King - The Romanovs (Song)
Long live the king, the king is dead
Your prayers won't call him back to your bed
With all this blood I've laced upon the moon
No spells of tricks will bring him home
Long live the king, the king is mine
The king is dead
There are so many things to play with in this song! Who is the singer, what do they have against the king? Is it a personal vendetta? Some kind of cultural ritual where the king is sacrificed to some kind of siren? What does she want? What is her power - witch? siren? Something else? Or tell me about her undoing, that she alludes to in the song: undone by wily voice and eyes - or show me the great city that will rise. Is she the queen? What do people think of their past? Do they know what they came from?
Twa Corbies (Traditional Song)
As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;
The tane unto the t'other say,
'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?'
So this is a long-loved song of mine. What I want to know or see from this is - why did his lady complicit in forgetting him? Was he in on it? Did he mistreat her? Did he deserve it, or not? Or was it more complicated than one party being clearly wronged? I mean - why were his animals happy to abandon him - was it just their nature or were they glad to be free of him? Maybe there was some kind of curse? Were they more than just animals?
Culling of the Fold - The Decemberists (Song)
Ply her heart with gold and silver
Take your sweetheart down to the river
Dash her on the paving stones
It may break your heart to break her bones
But someone's got to do the culling
Of the fold
Who is pushing for this? And why? Who are the girl and boy they are addressing, and why have hey been chosen? Are they married, or related in some way? What the goal of the culling? Is this an oft repeated ritual? Is this all some kind of delusion or is there some real reason that must be done? Is the method actually significant - the river, the paving stones? What happens if the fold isn't culled? Who all is *in* the fold? Is anyone trying to stop them? How's that going? Serial killer cult vs hard boiled detectives? Lovecraftian cult vs hard boiled detectives?
250,000 Miles - Patty Griffin (Song)
Oh where is my daughter that I carried
Gone to where the desert meets the sea
Far from where our family's bones are buried
Where mother moon walks arm in arm with me
A lady's maid for ladies who are waiting
She paints the toes, prepares a stranger's tea
What came before she must forget or bury
Or carry deep inside her silently
The red lipstick faces in the alleys
Their echoes and their shadows wind and wind
My daughter lives in still a deeper valley
And I fear I am running out of time
This song get me pretty emptional - clearly it is about a mother who is serching for, or at least concerned for, a daughteg that is gone, whether she left of her accord, or was taken, or has just changed in some way that makes her feel inaccessible. I can see a lot of different ways to explore that... At least for the mother, that maternal bond to her daughter is very strong, but does her daughter find the same importance in that biological connection? Or the connection to their shared homeland and ancestry? Has she successfully forgotten or buried what came before? What's the importance of the moon as a symbol here, and why is time running out? Is she dying? Is her daughter in trouble? What happens if she finds her daughter? What happens if she doesn't?
Evil Overshadows Joe - The Poppy Family (Song)
I look at you, Joe
I look you up and down
I shake my head
And then I turn around
'Cause you don't look to good to me now, Joe
What's the evil? Bad life choices - drugs and bad company? Or is it a more supernatural evil - vampires or werewolves or some other supernatural transformation? Why did the singer think that love would help? How is Joe no longer alive - is this a lament, and he is really dead? Or is it metaphorical? Is it really too late? How did JOe get started down this path, and what did the singer really do to help? Is the singer right or is there more happening that they don't know about?
One of My Kind - Concrete Blonde (Song)
Shadows, windows
Sorrow like an undertow
Clotheslines, telephone lines
It's a matter of time before they find me
I'm waiting for a sign from one of my kind
I'm waiting for the time to fall behind me
I'm waiting for a sign from one of my kind
So, tbh this song goes two places in my head. The first is someone who really just really wishes there was something more to their life - waiting for someone to come along and tell them they are a fairy princess, or whatever. They are not meant to live in a world this mundane, and are just killing time with whatever comes along, but can't really feel invested in it. Maybe they're right? Maybe they aren't? If they are right, what happens when that sign comes? Is it what they expected? What if it doesn't - can something else shake them out of their rut? Maybe they have some kind of issue that's never been properly diagnosed?
The other place this goes for me is more literal. What if they are a spy or something, and are killing time in an undercover role? Or maybe they really are a fairy or something and know it, and are likewise really just waiting on a sign that they can return - maybe they're exiled to the mortal world? Please note: anytime you see me sai fairy, I'm using it as a short hand for any kind of creature that doesn't original in the plane or belongs to some kind of hidden world. Could be all kinds of things: alien, extra dimentional traveller, whatever!
Thank you very much for writing something for me. I want to say first of all that if you have a strong idea about what you want to write, please feel free to run with it! I have tried to give some general ideas of things that I think might be cool for the stories, but for the most part I'm pretty open to interpretations. I'm okay with any rating, I don't have any real squicks or triggers. I like things that are scary and creepy and straight up horrific, but I also like things that a cute or funny or fluffy (though I'm not sure if any of the songs I picked really lean that way). I don't need happy endings, but I do enjoy them. If you have different ideas though, lemme have 'em! I like character introspection, I like world building, I like plot. I like porn, but I prefer plot to go with it. I don't know if any of these really lend themselves to porn, but if you think differently, lemme have it! Really, go wild! I'm pretty easy to please! Also, I am super into the idea of crossovers between any of the songs I'm requesting - I think some of them could go together pretty interestingly, so if there's an idea that strikes you along those lines please have at.
I am really excited for this fest, possibly more than is rational. I have a longstanding love of folk music and other forms of ballads and song-stories, and I like thinking about what we don't know as much as what we do. The canons we have to work with here are mostly pretty loose, and I'm excited to see where people go with them. I recognize that this is a lot closer to original fic than most fandom-fests, and I appreciate that it can be harder to make things up whole cloth, so really, thank you! Write what you want, what inspires you, and hopefully what is below has some good ideas if you're feeling lost!
It you are a podficer or a podfic team - I'm super excited, as I've never received a podfic for an exchange before! I think writing a story you know is destined for an aural medium is a cool challenge, and I know the recording of a podfic can be pretty challenging itself, so major props for offering! In this case, since the canon is also aural I think it is an especially interesting pairing! I am a big fan of podcasted/podficed short fiction, but I don't know if I can give any specific likes/dislikes /o\
If you are an artist - I actually really enjoy pieces that have more abstract or symbolic elements to them, so if you want to play with themes and atmosphere rather than create something strictly representational from any of the songs I have requested, please feel free! I don't know if that makes things easier or not, but I appreciate you putting your talents to use for me, in whatever medium!
I am requesting Fanfic, Fanart, or Podfic for all requests (but treats in any media would be a delight).
King - The Romanovs (Song)
Long live the king, the king is dead
Your prayers won't call him back to your bed
With all this blood I've laced upon the moon
No spells of tricks will bring him home
Long live the king, the king is mine
The king is dead
There are so many things to play with in this song! Who is the singer, what do they have against the king? Is it a personal vendetta? Some kind of cultural ritual where the king is sacrificed to some kind of siren? What does she want? What is her power - witch? siren? Something else? Or tell me about her undoing, that she alludes to in the song: undone by wily voice and eyes - or show me the great city that will rise. Is she the queen? What do people think of their past? Do they know what they came from?
Twa Corbies (Traditional Song)
As I was walking all alane,
I heard twa corbies making a mane;
The tane unto the t'other say,
'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?'
So this is a long-loved song of mine. What I want to know or see from this is - why did his lady complicit in forgetting him? Was he in on it? Did he mistreat her? Did he deserve it, or not? Or was it more complicated than one party being clearly wronged? I mean - why were his animals happy to abandon him - was it just their nature or were they glad to be free of him? Maybe there was some kind of curse? Were they more than just animals?
Culling of the Fold - The Decemberists (Song)
Ply her heart with gold and silver
Take your sweetheart down to the river
Dash her on the paving stones
It may break your heart to break her bones
But someone's got to do the culling
Of the fold
Who is pushing for this? And why? Who are the girl and boy they are addressing, and why have hey been chosen? Are they married, or related in some way? What the goal of the culling? Is this an oft repeated ritual? Is this all some kind of delusion or is there some real reason that must be done? Is the method actually significant - the river, the paving stones? What happens if the fold isn't culled? Who all is *in* the fold? Is anyone trying to stop them? How's that going? Serial killer cult vs hard boiled detectives? Lovecraftian cult vs hard boiled detectives?
250,000 Miles - Patty Griffin (Song)
Oh where is my daughter that I carried
Gone to where the desert meets the sea
Far from where our family's bones are buried
Where mother moon walks arm in arm with me
A lady's maid for ladies who are waiting
She paints the toes, prepares a stranger's tea
What came before she must forget or bury
Or carry deep inside her silently
The red lipstick faces in the alleys
Their echoes and their shadows wind and wind
My daughter lives in still a deeper valley
And I fear I am running out of time
This song get me pretty emptional - clearly it is about a mother who is serching for, or at least concerned for, a daughteg that is gone, whether she left of her accord, or was taken, or has just changed in some way that makes her feel inaccessible. I can see a lot of different ways to explore that... At least for the mother, that maternal bond to her daughter is very strong, but does her daughter find the same importance in that biological connection? Or the connection to their shared homeland and ancestry? Has she successfully forgotten or buried what came before? What's the importance of the moon as a symbol here, and why is time running out? Is she dying? Is her daughter in trouble? What happens if she finds her daughter? What happens if she doesn't?
Evil Overshadows Joe - The Poppy Family (Song)
I look at you, Joe
I look you up and down
I shake my head
And then I turn around
'Cause you don't look to good to me now, Joe
What's the evil? Bad life choices - drugs and bad company? Or is it a more supernatural evil - vampires or werewolves or some other supernatural transformation? Why did the singer think that love would help? How is Joe no longer alive - is this a lament, and he is really dead? Or is it metaphorical? Is it really too late? How did JOe get started down this path, and what did the singer really do to help? Is the singer right or is there more happening that they don't know about?
One of My Kind - Concrete Blonde (Song)
Shadows, windows
Sorrow like an undertow
Clotheslines, telephone lines
It's a matter of time before they find me
I'm waiting for a sign from one of my kind
I'm waiting for the time to fall behind me
I'm waiting for a sign from one of my kind
So, tbh this song goes two places in my head. The first is someone who really just really wishes there was something more to their life - waiting for someone to come along and tell them they are a fairy princess, or whatever. They are not meant to live in a world this mundane, and are just killing time with whatever comes along, but can't really feel invested in it. Maybe they're right? Maybe they aren't? If they are right, what happens when that sign comes? Is it what they expected? What if it doesn't - can something else shake them out of their rut? Maybe they have some kind of issue that's never been properly diagnosed?
The other place this goes for me is more literal. What if they are a spy or something, and are killing time in an undercover role? Or maybe they really are a fairy or something and know it, and are likewise really just waiting on a sign that they can return - maybe they're exiled to the mortal world? Please note: anytime you see me sai fairy, I'm using it as a short hand for any kind of creature that doesn't original in the plane or belongs to some kind of hidden world. Could be all kinds of things: alien, extra dimentional traveller, whatever!
