The smith sweats,
An armsworker,
Doing the work of shinigami,
Machining thanatos into steel,
Ore becomes death,
A masterwork,
An emotionless tool,
A cold weapon,
A true lifetaker,
A stygian masterpiece,
Harnessing thunder and hellfire,
The power of hades,
The power to take lives,
In one hand or two,
Exerting ones will through iron,
Stocks and smoking barrels,
Breathing fire and ash,
Charon on a bullet,
A life snuffed out,
The gunsmiths work complete,
Can he claim neutrality?
Does this artisan care whose life is ended?
Does this merchant burden himself with ethics?
Does this artist care how his art is wielded?
Is the dollar worth more than a life?
I’ve seen the elite,
A cartel of tuxedo players,
Vultures around a board held aloft by we the people,
They play monopoly above us,
Playing for borders and lives,
Among red buttons and whiskey,
An oligarchy of a smoking room,
Perfume of toxic fumes,
Product of industry,
A effluvium of poor mens moans,
Sounds of pickaxes and canaries,
Walls of blood diamonds,
The pieces are made of flesh,
Shaped like batons and warmachines,
And cry for help as they shift,
Beholden to old men,
Liars in chief,
Tycoons of trepidation,
They have played this boardgame for centuries,
From pyramids to railways,
From aeroplanes to the moon,
We have been pawns for too long,
What happens if we all stand up?
And knock their game over.
I hope that you’re all having an excellent and uplifting day! I’ve been feeling a decent amount of positivity for the last few days. Fighting the low mood tooth and nail, I tell you! Haven’t gotten out quite as much though, due to a great deal of rain. Riding the bike in that weather is pretty much out of the question. It’s given me some exquisite views out of the window at least. Nothing like a downpour to cleanse the minds eye. But onwards and upwards eh?
So, it’s time for another edition of the Harlequins writing music. Almost contrary to what I said in my previous post last week, about still having many artists to share with you, I thought I’d do one of my “single artist” posts this week. It took me a few days to actually decide which artist to pick. But in the end, it had to be one of my all-time favourites that I’ve recently rediscovered after a few years. A teenage favourite of mine, as it happens. The band I have chosen this time is She Wants Revenge.
She Wants Revenge are a rock/dark electronic (though it’s often described as Darkwave) band from California in the US. I remember first hearing one of their songs, called Tear You Apart, in the thoroughly disappointing move ‘The Number 23’. The movie was a shame, but the song stayed with me and so I looked up the band. Naturally, I promptly fell in love. Their songs tend to err on the side of the darker or dirtier side of romance. As in, unrequited love, depression, obsession and sex. They are another band that, in my opinion, have a very unique vocalist in the form of Justin Warfield. I find his vocal style hard to describe. It’s almost monotone-esque, while still really quite fluid. As for the music itself, it ranges from rather dancy electronic numbers to dark moody rock. I really recommend them, they have a little something for everyone. I’ll be sharing five of my favourites, but I definitely suggest delving deeper.
So, without further adieu, join me as we delve into the moody musical minds of She Wants Revenge!
She Wants Revenge – These Things
She Wants Revenge – Out Of Control
She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart
She Wants Revenge – Broken Promises For Broken Hearts
She Wants Revenge – Take The World
So there we have it for a She Wants Revenge version of the Oldschool Harlequins writing music!
As I always do, I’ll be sharing the link to the website for the band. Here it is: https://www.shewantsrevenge.com/. I really hope that many of you give them a chance, they are very easy to listen to while also having rather deep lyrics!
Also as always, I’m going to encourage you all to follow the asylum over on social media. I have a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a Twitter page. I tend to post some silly, random things in those places. But I also post clues for my poems ahead of time! It can be fun sometimes! Oh and as always, if you like what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over on the Ko-Fi page! Thank you to all the inmates out there! You’re all breathtaking!
So, until next week, have a very crazy day inmates!
Listen here children,
Have you heard the tales?
Folklore of these trees,
That you wander amongst,
The trees that whisper one name,
A witch that lives here,
An ambiguous figure,
Baba Yaga,
You shall hear her approach child,
As chicken legs upon underbrush,
Her weathered hut astride,
Leaves shiver at her arrival,
Ferocious in her features,
Wielding a pestle,
And accompanied by a sorcerous mortar,
Greet her warmly child,
She can turn from helpful guide,
To child eater posthaste,
Don’t be rude child,
Wield your pleases and thank yous thick and fast,
She may impart such divine knowledge,
Or you may never leave her woods.
The day roars in anger,
As I awaken bloody-eyed,
It bares its dragon fangs to me,
Demanding I return to the aether,
It threatens my chakras,
So I turn to the gemstones,
They are eternal war advisors,
I turn to the agate to calm me,
It’s fiery aura pushing me ahead,
I watch the ruby rage,
Impelling me to take on the day,
Unakite takes on purging my nightly malice,
I clutch a pristine diamond,
It animates me to be a force of good,
Amplifying opal carries the lance and standard,
Tiger eye suggests a practical method,
The onyx points the way,
While the pyrite drives me to stand up to the dragon,
I gaze at the howlite,
Quietly it tells me to forgive the day,
They serve as bulwark and bandage,
The dragon shall be subdued,
Whether through heart or force.
I’m an old marionette,
Constructed of the flimsiest lime wood,
I was discarded from the pier of life,
Left in the mud,
Sinking slowly but surely,
A small parody of a clown,
A joke in truth,
Closer than I’d like to admit,
Faded paintwork,
No longer any particular shade,
Tattered strings made of hazy twine,
A control bar rusted by seawater,
I fear my puppeteer went astray,
Never been to an opera,
A puppet without a show,
Now the renaissance is over,
The dark comes,
I saw the sun exit stage right,
This peat will consume,
My little wooden heart.
Love is music,
Verily indeed,
The most deadly kind of music,
Is certainly a love song,
Vixen words of infatuation,
The soft tones,
And romantic nuances,
Aural nectar and petals,
They’ll give you hope,
A lie we all believe,
A heart-shaped bear trap,
A praying mantis,
Passion strikes,
The trap snaps shut,
A heart exploding,
Within a chest cavity,
Tearing wings off of doves,
As they try to soar,
This is no romance poem,
It’s a plea to hear no more music,
Forgive my subversion,
Love left me a drop topsy-turvy,
A marionette whose strings were cut,
It was all a lie.
I hope that you’re having a wonderful day today. I’m feeling fantastic myself! I’ve been getting out a great deal more often and making the most of the great summer weather we’re having right now. Spent between 3 and 4 hours just yesterday having a long ride on my bike. Witnessed some great coastal views and just chilled with the sun. It’s been doing wonders for my mood and mental health, which I’ll admit I was letting slip a tad in recent weeks.
On another positive note, there have been two great milestones occuring for the asylum in the last week. These may not be too surprising for anybody that is on the social media pages for the blog. Firstly, the blog has finally passed 2000 followers! Lots more inmates friends to interact with! Thank you all once again (take a shot each time I say that, I dare you) for supporting me and welcome to those new inmates who’ve just braved the gates! The second milestone is less impactful, but was still a reasonable confidence burst. My poem just yesterday, called Hellscape, was my 500th post here at the asylum! I hadn’t even noticed that I was close, so I was blown away when WordPress notified me.
So, it’s time for the next issue of the Harlequins writing music! Number forty-two! The “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”, in the words of Douglas Adams. Believe it or not, I’ve still got many musical artists to share with you all. I can assure you that there will be plenty music posts to come for the foreseeable future. I hope these have been helping some of you in your own creative pursuits!
So, join me as we delve into the musical minds of superb artists the world over!
So there we have it for yet another rendition of the Oldschool Harlequins writing music!
I had a couple bands there that I have actually not listened to in a few years and creating this list has “rediscovered” them for me! Here’s hoping that you all give at least some of these artists a try. It’s only a few minutes of your time eh? Hehe!
So, let’s have the networking spiel again eh? I have a Facebook page, a Twitter account and an Instagram page for the asylum! Come and join me other there too! I post random things occasionally, including clues for my poems a few hours ahead of time. It’s just a bit of fun, as they say! As always, if you like what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over on the Ko-Fi page! Thank you all once again! (How are those shots coming?)
WorldofHarley 