To the freakshow I went, Yes I did, To see the Strongman, To gawk upon him was to see a titan, A toned personification of divine motif, A visual ambrosia,
His body had been created by sorcery surely, Built with tales as tall as any colossus, His arms the girth of proud redwoods, His chiselled chin had even cleft the canyons, He whose stance holds asunder continents, He whose shoulders could lift up the sky,
Metaphor only scrapes the surface, The circus lights hid much of his humanity, He was superhuman, In another time, A more simple time, He could have been named a god,
Living is all chemicals, Being is all medication, Blood and acid and sugar, Saltpeter and alcohol and enzyme, The flesh is merely stone without it, We require it, So voracious have we become, There’s a chemical for every ill,
Have a bit of pain? Pop a pill, Black clouds overbearing? Best get on that firewater, Your brain is rebelling? Antipsychotics have got you honey, Stress overstimulates that tired heart? I’ve got a light here,
Medicate that little problem, And all of those too, It’ll fix any issue you have, Imagined or otherwise, For better or for worse, It can even offer a way out, Tired of it all? Here’s some Flavourade.
I hope you’re having a great day and excellent week so far. It’s been an alright one, with plenty of stuff going on. Plenty of nice weather as well (until today ironically). I got my hair cut yesterday after way too long. I look at least vaguely human now. I’ve also been quite happy with the poems so far this week. Though I would say they have been a bit more on the introspective side, particularly looking at our societies. So yes, all in all, a pretty decent week. I struggle to think of any complaints to be honest. That may be a first…
So, its the time of the week for the Harlequins writing music! I still find myself being amazed that I’ve actually kept this up now for 81 parts. It’s simply mind-blowing. I’m not stopping now either! As usual, I had a clue for todays theme posted on my social media a few hours ago. Did anybody get it?
Well, the theme for todays music choices is the paranormal. Ghosts in particular of course. People have written numerous songs over the years about being haunted, ghost stories and all manner of hereafter-related shenanigans. The afterlife is a total mystery to all of us, whether you are religious or not. We don’t know for sure what happens. So, peoples ideas and beliefs have inspired music about the subject. It lends itself well to musical interpretation. Do we remain here after our demise? Do we go elsewhere? Are there beings around us that we can’t see? I think the idea of musical ghost stories is awesome and it does tie into my love of horror quite a lot too.
So, lets give this a go eh? Join me as we delve into the musical minds of spectral artists the world over!
And there we have it for another edition! How was that? Quite a variety of incarnations of the paranormal or afterlife there don’t you think? There were quite a few others that I could have chosen, but I must confess this may have been the hardest theme I’ve chosen so far. So many songs use the name “Ghost” or Ghosts” but aren’t talking about the paranormal or anything even resembling ectoplasm. For shame I say! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my choices this week and catch me back here again next week for another shot of musical “goodness”.
I ought to put some social media spiel here hadn’t I? The asylum has a page over on Facebook, an account on Instagram and a presence on Twitter too. Please go over and like/follow me on those pages to keep tabs on my stuff! Also, if you enjoy what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over on the Ko-Fi page. Cheers for everything!
The world is a corpse, Lain amidst rot and pus, Split up and killed long ago, Now nothing more than ore, Nothing more than flesh,
We are vermin gnawing at the meat, An infection borne of Mother Natures own seed, Rats in tracksuits and skirts, Stinking, Malignant,
Deaths spectre strafes up above, The barbers blade, Picking us off one by one, Dining upon our foul frail forms, Eternal bird gets the worm,
But the reaper can only excise so many, We’ve become quite the obstinate infestation, We are legion, So the only salve I fear, Would be the sun stepping in,
I often wonder, As I gaze at more tears on television, Does life have a deus ex machina in the works? A god out of the machine, A plot twist in our lives, A magical transcendental moment, Perhaps an angel could lift a finger, Or the Devil himself take a day off,
It’d be a game changer, I wish someone would write that blissful passage, To switch on the machine, To rapidly change our fortunes, Call it convenient, Call it idealistic, But have we not suffered enough? Haven’t we crawled through enough ditches?
A doorbell death knell, My pulse surges like a cauldron, A gasket ready to blow, There is an invader in our midst, A revenant with a kindly face,
Knock knock,
The door chants to me, The palpitations begin their dance, This perpetual state of foreboding, It’s a disease of the mind, Why do you want to see me?
Ring ring,
Outside there are foes, Demons with torches and pitchforks, Wielding such threats as hellos and good mornings, Casting dark spells with waves and smiles, Don’t let them in,
Beep beep,
Friends call up from outside, I retreat to my duvet, I don’t belong in that society, Why else would I shiver at their presence, And shield my eyes from their azure skies?
Do you too have another side? An echo of your own voice, From the depths of your psyche, A prisoner in your own bedlam, Your very own Fight Club Tyler, A dark side, Not evil, But blunt in its ways,
A side that will say what you won’t, With no regard for societal whims, A side that will always stand up for you, Unafraid to create tears in its purpose, A more confident you, A more independent you, Persistent in its desire to push you, With barbed wire teeth and a roughshod tongue,
Don’t think well of me, Never confuse me for an optimist, I dread each day, I’m a misanthrope, A negative Nancy, A cockroach in pants, With anxiety written on my face,
Each morn wakes with fiery skies, A new doomsday, The next stage of my degradation, The next worst day of my life, Alas I rise amidst the rubble, Like Icarus soaring, Only to burn up,
But chronology comes to alleviate the scalding, When I close my eyes again, The void reaches out, An oily swimming pool, Sounds like heaven to me, I savour every black moment, Though dreading the next waking moment.
Life is all documentation, Each movement a form to fill, A D1 or a CN22 or otherwise, Every action requiring permission, Of some faceless bureaucratic ghoul, Simplicity was too inefficient, Our bindings were a touch too loose, So we were bestowed this obstacle course,
I can see my objective clearly, But an olympic run away, Strewn with red razor wire, Burning hoops and dotted lines, For each footfall a box to tick, But not that one, Wrong form after all, Time to stumble.
How are you all doing? Been having an eventful week? That’s just grand! I’ve gotten round to typing up this post a little late in the day this time as I’ve been a tad busy. Sorry about that! I’m still rather amazed I’ve managed to post every day since February last year. It’s one of the few things I’m really proud of. Anybody have any particular writing achievements that they are proud of? I’d love to hear about it!
So, another edition of the Harlequins writing music eh? I imagine that’s what you’re here for. That’s great to hear! Well, did anybody happen to see the clue I posted on social media earlier on today? It was a slightly more obvious one that previous iterations I felt. Well, here goes! The theme for our writing music choices today is drinking! Oh yes indeed! Music and alcohol just go hand in hand don’t they? From pub songs to tunes about the social aspects of drinking to more negative songs about the depressive effects of booze.
Drinking has a culture all of its own. Particularly over here in the UK, it’s almost used as the sole basis of socialising. Everyone tends to be giddy and free-speaking when they’ve got a pint in their hand. I no longer partake myself, as it happens. Naturally, it has inspired many artists to write about their explorations through drunkenness or certain events/conquests that occurred during a binge. It could be as simple as songs designed to played in a pub or club. It could be a song about the negative side of alcohol; the violence or sickness. I’ve picked five songs that I feel represent our theme today in a number of different ways. Anybody want to get down to some real “party” tunes eh?
Once again, join me as we delve into the musical minds of drinking artists the world over!
How was that eh? Do you think I’ve captured the essence of drinking with these choices? As always, I could have chosen so many others as well. Five is just a tad too limiting isn’t it? Well for now, it’s the most I think I could do, otherwise I’d be here all day doing this and that is a bit too much don’t you reckon? I hope you enjoyed these choices and check out these artists, they always deserve the attention. Raise a glass to them eh?
So, how about some social media spiel? The asylum has a presence on Facebook, an account over on Instagram and an account on Twitter too! Also, if you like what I do here at the asylum, please consider supporting me over on the Ko-fi page! Thanks for everything!
WorldofHarley 