Inspired by entites-of-posts and also listening to I'm A Bug by Fries on the Side too much, I've made a blog to categorize songs by Entity.
Call me Ishmael, any pronouns.
This Blog is open to asks at all times!
Hi especially those of you who know who I am. Ishmael is an oc of mine and I've decided he can be a TMA oc now too. Yes this blog is willing to roleplay ^^ but its primary function is Songs
How it Works - Asks Welcome! FAQ Below
Each song will be assigned a Primary Entity, if applicable, by the strongest themes that appear in the lyrics. As well as any secondary influences I can detect.
These will be tagged #Primary: [Entity Name] and #Secondary: [Entity Name]
All posts related to the archive will be tagged #Ishmael's Archive
All Non-Archive/Song posts will be tagged #Ishmael Speaks
I will include links to Youtube, Spotify, and Bandcamp, where any of these are applicable. I will include lyrics as well, annotating with color by fear.
I prefer you just send me the names of the song and band/artist instead of links, but either works
This is all just a fun little passion project! I may be an archivist, but I'm no real Eye-vatar (at least not yet), so I may get some of these wrong. Feel free to share what you think!
Entities
If you're looking at this blog, you probably already know the Fears. But here I also plan to Color-code my text for fanciness sake. So sorry if the colors look off on Light mode, I tried ^^
Enjoy the little poems at the beginning of each playlist post. I just wanted something above the read-more that wasn't only the title
Can I send obvious songs?
— Absolutely! Sometimes, they might not be what they seem! Even if they are obvious, it'll give me some easy posts to fill queue with ^^
Can I send hard to determine songs / songs that might not have an entity association?
— Yes! I love a challenge! Even if they don't have an association, They'll still get archived! They'll be tagged as #No Entity
Can I send you Instrumentals / Classical music
— Yes! They may be hard to decide on, or may end up in No Entity more frequently, but same as above I always love a challenge!
If I disagree with you, can I add my second opinion / tag another blog to weigh in?
— Certianly! I'm fully open to disagreement, it'll help build a better understanding of the fears we live under. If you want to tag another blog to give a second opinion for you, please make sure that blog is ok with it!
— If you feel an entity could be tied to something I labeled No Entity, then I actually encourage you to share! If your addition changes my mind, I'll happily reblog it!
Can I send non-English songs?
— Absolutely, however, I only know English and French, so if it’s neither of those I will attempt to find an English translation or pull a Chinese room and find a to-English dictionary for the language.
— You are welcome to send me your own translation as well, but know I will not click on links sent through asks.
Hey, admin here. Life has been tiresome recently and the heat hasn't helped. Ishmael'll be back some time but this blog might sit on break for a little longer. Sorry for the wait.
Hiii! I am very tired. We've had some big... "events" at the Archive recently and- nothing lethal I promise! But... D-. Boss told us to take some time off anyway, seeing as we've all worked ourselves to the bone and we're all tired.
Well. All tired except for Emma. I don't know how she does it. Its like paperwork is her lifeblood.
Sooooo. I'll be taking a little bit of a break. I'll still be listening to requested songs! Categorizing them and queuing them up for later still! But there might not be many posts for a hot minute.
Now's actually a good time to suggest songs! That way I don't run out of requests before come back.
{ Archive notification system will be active still, but queue will be paused }
We are Beautiful, We are Doomed by Los Campesinos!
This Song Is: Corruption
Secondary Influences: Desolation
Explanation: I'd say this song is primarily corruption, with the sickness and rotting motifs being used to describe the status of their relationship and his love for her. Theres also a drop of Desolation from him threatening to destroy the blossoming relationship between his love and another guy (as described with fire motifs)
Requested by: @cicadabee
Lyrics:
By the light of the LED display of a VCR recorder
You kiss my neck, I whisper in your ear, "This is my downfall"
As you squint and you grimace, we both know your heart's not in it
By the glow of a thousand fireflies in a Travelodge ensuite
They think the future's bright as halogen, we know it's pretty bleak
And I am trying to be sexy, biting at the air that falls in front of me
Your telegrams are more and more less detailed by the day
And all the characters are strangers and the pubs have different names
I tell a joke I'd like to meet them but they loathe me and I hate them back
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, fondness makes the absence longer
Length loses my interest, I'm a realist, I'm insatiable
Swapped counting days until I fly, with hours before your reply
You said he got his teeth fixed
I'm gonna break them
I've got a heart on fire
He said he's got his sights set
On getting to ya
I've got a fist on fire
You feel terrified at the thought of being left behind
Of losing everybody
The necessity of dying
Oh, we kid ourselves there's future in the fucking
But there is no fucking future
I'm just practicing my accents, picking at old sutures
I taught myself the only way to vaguely get along in love
Is to like the other slightly less than you get in return
I keep feeling like I'm being undercut
Charlotte says, "It's more constructive than the one in Canada
When you got drunk
Ate loads of crisps
And threw up by a football pitch"
I know it is
And really that's what worries me
I feel like I should
Hurt
You said he got his teeth fixed
I'm gonna break them
I've got a heart on fire
He said he's got his sights set
On getting to ya
I've got a fist on fire
I cannot emphasise enough that my body
Is a badly designed, poorly put-together vessel
Harbouring these diminishing, so-called 'vital organs'
I hope my heart goes first
I hope my heart goes first!
Explanation: Classic stranger motifs, no notes needed. Taxidermy is even of the Stranger itself, theres a whole episode on it!
I do sense a little end here, they're afraid of death, turning to taxidermy to keep themself and others alive.
I do think the mention that he taxidermied his eyes first a funny coincidence
Requested by: Anon
Lyrics:
You could die and come back as someone else
If you're enticed by what I sell
Just need to sign and I'll stuff you well
Here at Terry's
When they die, they're dying to be rebuilt
With bigger smiles like you wish they did
Hindsight is a tricky thing
So get creative
Lilac eyes that'll never wilt
Can't say goodbye with no lungs to fill
Comfy company, a human quilt
Preservation
Sleep on a couch in an empty home
Kicked out of bed by the memory foam
Reason it out with the heads I've sewn
My poised and harlequin eternal loves
At Terry's Taxidermy, I'll leave you neat as a figurine (At Terry's)
I'll remedy the death of thee, your memory forever seen
I'll set you free
At Terry's Taxidermy, I'll leave you neat as a figurine
I don't need to let go, so long as I
Bring a sweet and special doll to life
So I keep this mental compromise
Justification
But the nights are cold next to empty chests
And polished arms in which I'd never rest
I come to harm, but they can never fret
Isolation
And I've got a heart pumping messy blood
And all these parts I could better cut
And quit the farce of these imperfect guts
Contemplation
Sleep on a couch in an empty home
Kicked out of bed by the memory foam
Reason it out with the heads I've sewn
My poised and harlequin eternal loves
At Terry's Taxidermy, I'll leave you neat as a figurine (At Terry's)
I'll remedy the death of thee, your memory forever seen
I'll set you free
At Terry's Taxidermy, I'll leave you neat as a figurine (At Terry's)
I'll remedy the death of thee, your memory forever seen
I'll set you free at Terry's
Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate the life of Dr. Tich. As many of you know, Terrence attempted to taxidermy himself. He was a man of perfectionism, not a man of foresight, and consequently he started with his eyes. What followed was less than his best work, leading to today's service being a closed casket. If you'll all please join in a prayer–– Oh, Jesus Christ! Someone help me pick him up…
Secondary Influences: Lonely
Referenced: Desolation, End
Explanation: Ah, reminiscing on an unhealthy relationship. Corruption. There's actually plenty of Corruption in this song, from moral to relationship to physical. This person seems to be aiming for purity but recognizing he's already impure.
There's also lonely here, especially in both breakup and reference to college experience. All his friends in college have grown up to live happy fulfilling lives, and he doesn't have that.
Desolation's heat theming is here in verse 2, but its not necessarily tied to cutting ties or loss. However I would say it could be lonely, as its keeping him inside and isolated.
There's a bit on end, I think. This person isn't truly living, but waiting in suspense to die. What mainly tipped me off to end was the first verse, particularly "I try to come up with something vague / She asks if I'm going to the party / I tell her I'm going to the party" where we're expecting something to rhyme, particularly "grave," but is subverted with "party." Very end flavored, but I don't think its a direct influence to the song ^^''
Requested by: @ezra-the-ghost-cat
Lyrics:
She smoked 100s when I met her
She tried to quit before she left me
I'm not so sure if that's important
Free association gets me dizzy
They ask, "What's the reason for your appointment?"
I try to come up with something vague
She asks if I'm going to the party
I tell her I'm going to the party
It's so hot by noon, I just get queasy
It's so hot by two, I stay inside
I try to put down a cup of coffee
He asks how much I'm drinking, and I lie
But doctors are always trying to tell you
Some torturous way to live your life
It's not like they know everything ever
Hey, man, I went to college, too, ooh, ooh
[Guitar Solo]
But all of the kids I met on campus
Are settled down beside the sea
Some days, I wish that I could be that
Sometimes, I forget to spit out the seeds
I'll make it through this if it kills me
Then, when it kills me, I'll come back
Jesus will make me a disciple
Or maybe he'll let me be your cat
I wait to be led into temptation
As I lay a load across the street
Catherine is smoking pot above me
Watching Hellraiser on TV
Tomorrow, I'm driving to Chicago
Tonight, I am kneeling from the pew
Still doing all I can to understand
One more erotic nightmare about you
Explanation: I'd say this song is absolutely End due to the primary imagery use, but most of the death imagery also supports the use of Corruption's meanings.
There's plenty of corruption in this song, most obviously in the Angel imagery. The singer believes he's falling an angel (Your Halo slipped to frame you) with their relationship, also supported by the "blood on snow" imagery. He thinks he's corrupting something pure (whereas she sees it as something being added instead (sweet sauce on ice-cream cones).
The "Girdle of Venus / You're six months old sh-shakin' me" puns could also be End supporting Corruption.
- Girdle of Venus is a palm line (one he would have burned off) that is supposed to imply nervousness, and it seems the artist is making a pun by combining Venus with "down on my knees."
- Combined with the "Baby shaking a death rattle" pun, its safe to say he's nervous about this girl.
Desolation is also found here, in the burn imagery in verse 1. Literally burning off the palm of his hand and making a palm reader predict his future with nothing to work off of.
I originally considered Frostbite to be Desolation as well, but I'd say this contributes to Corruption, and maybe a little Lonely (Festering Loneliness, implied to be from lack sex)
Requested by: @cicadabee
Lyrics:
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone
We burnt all the skin from the palm of my hands
With an old Zippo lighter and deodorant can
I went to the palmist and asked her to read
No heart line, no sun line, no life line, no need
Said, "All that I wanted was a quiet life
Not one predetermined by minuscule slices
Into my flesh", and the broad, she agreed
One look in my sad eyes, she had to concede
Baby, the girdle of Venus got me, got me down on my knees
And baby, baby, I got the death rattle and you're six months old sh-shakin' me
Traced my right index finger 'long the roof of every car
On the walk back to your house in the cold from City Arms
In the frost, I drew a dick for every girl that wouldn't fuck me
Woke early the next morning to see the frost had bitten me
My blisters black and touch cold
Like a cute stuffed toy bear's nose
The kind of gift I'd give you
Like a less committed Van Gogh
And you
You are an angel, that's why you pray
And I am an ass, and that's why I bray
Your halo slipped to frame you
Like a photo, porthole window
I see blood spill in the pure snow
You see sweet sauce on ice-cream cones
And you, you are an angel, that's why you pray
And I am an ass, and that's why I bray
If you were tomorrow, I'd be today
And this is the end
(I'm serious, so listen now)
Baby, I got the death rattle, and baby, I got it bad
I've been digging my grave for quite some time, when I'm not digging up the past
And I chewed my only necktie, from the metal frame of my bed
Where I tied your wrists together, spent all night givin'
(Oh, you get the message though)
Not headstone, but headboard
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone, but headboard
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone, but headboard
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone, but headboard
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone (not headstone), but headboard (but headboard)
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone (not headstone), but headboard (but headboard)
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone (not headstone), but headboard (but headboard)
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone (not headstone), but headboard (but headboard)
Is where I want to be mourned
Not headstone (not headstone), but headboard (but headboard)
Is where I want to be mourned
Explanation: Man I really put myself to work here. Maybe I took this one too seriously? Idk y'all tell me how you like this.
I'd say this is a lonely vast team up here. This song is about David Bowie's drug addiction in the 70s, and uses alot of space symbolism (especially the use of stuff from Space Oddity). But thats not all.
Luckily, I found a interview with David Bowie to give insight into the song. The Vast actual influence as a fear shows up in the second pre-chorus (starting with "I've never done good things/I've never done bad thins/etc"). The Vast theming here seems a little on the nose, but looking at the interview, Bowie himself says:
"Those three particular lines represent a continuing, returning feeling of inadequacy over what I've done. ... I have an awful lot of reservations about what I've done inasmuch as I don't feel much of it has any import at all. And then I have days when of course it all feels very important to me, that I've contributed an awful lot. But I'm not awfully happy with what I've done in the past actually."
These lines are a direct show if feeling of insignificance, that he feels he's done nothing important in his life, a feeling the Vast feeds on. He feels inadequate, he's not much of anything.
I would also say this is Lonely, there's themes of isolation due to drug addiction. Major Tom is high in the drug-sense, but also distant. And, looking into Bowie's life at the time comparing it to the first pre-chorus and verse 2: he's isolated. He's trying to kick the addiction with one friend's encouragement, a friend who's failing to kick it himself.
Requested by: Anon
Lyrics:
[Instrumental]
Do you remember a guy that's been
In such an early song?
I've heard a rumour from Ground Control
Oh, no, don't say it's true
They got a message from the Action Man
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too
I've loved all I've needed, love
Sordid details following"
The shrieking of nothing is killing
The shrieking of nothing is killing
Just pictures of Jap girls in synthesis
Just pictures of Jap girls in synthesis
And I ain't got no money and I ain't got no hair
I ain't got no money and I ain't got no hair
But I'm hoping to kick, but the planet is glowing
But I'm hoping to kick, but the planet is glowing
Ashes to ash and funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low
[Gibberish]
Time and again, I tell myself
I'll stay clean tonight
But the little green wheels are following me
Oh, no, not again
I'm stuck with a valuable friend
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too"
One flash of light, but no smoking pistol
I've never done good things
I've never done good things
I've never done bad things
I've never done bad things
I never did anything out of the blue, woah woah
I never did anything out of the blue, woah woah
Want an axe to break the ice
I want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now
I want to come down right now
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low
My mama said to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom
My mama said to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom
My mama said to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom
My mama said to get things done
You'd better not mess with Major Tom
My mama said
So, Deltarune today! Its actually a favorite game among our little archive! One of the other assistants here is re-playing the game from chapter 1 on company time (No, I'm not saying who), and we've had a funny thing going.
Every time they say Lighter in the game, one of us starts reciting the Leitner rant :D
Anyway, heres some stats:
Our current Longest Playlist is: End! with 2 Primary and 5 secondary, bringing it to a 7 total
Our current Longest Primary list: Deolation! with 5!
Our current Longest Secondary list: End!
Some of our Fears are lacking! These are playlists that are missing things!
Playlists without primary* songs: Hunt, Stranger, Extinction
Playlists without secondary songs: Corruption, Buried, Desolation, Spiral, Dull
Playlists without any* songs: Flesh, Dark, Slaughter,
Explanation: If a village abandons a child to the cold, the child will burn it down to feel its warmth, or however the saying goes. This is definately a desolation song not only on account of the fire motif, but the tearing down of a life.
Theres also a little End in here, mainly at the first and second verse, focusing on impending death.
Requested by: Me
Lyrics:
They all laughed as he turned around slow
They said, "You ain't welcome ’round here anymore
You just might as well go"
He wiped the blood from his face
As he slowly came to his knees
He said, "I'll be back when you least expect it
And Hell's coming with me
Hell’s coming with me"
[Instrumental]
There is a hill at the bottom of the valley
Where all the poor souls go when they die
And if you listen real close, you can hear 'em like a ghost
Sayin', "You're never gonna make it out alive"
There is a town at the bottom of that hill
They got a secret that they keep like a slave
They got a black magic preacher
And you'd do well to let him teach ya
You'll be headin' up that hill to the grave
And it is well with my soul
You line your pockets full of money
That you steal from the poor
And on your way down to hell
You'll hear me ring that bell
I’d pay the devil twice as much to keep your soul
There was a drifter passin’ through that little valley
See, he had promised he was comin' back to town (Comin’ back to town)
They didn't know him by his face (Hmm)
Or by the gun around his waist (Hm-hm)
But he'd come back to burn that town to the ground
First, there was fire, then there was smoke
Then that preacher man was hangin' by a rope
And then they all fell to their knees
And begged that drifter, begged him, "Please"
As he raised his fist before he spoke
I am the righteous hand of God
And I am the devil that you forgot
And I told you one day you will see
That I’ll be back, I guarantee
And that hell's comin', hell's comin'
Hell, hell's comin' with me
[Instrumental]
And it is well with my soul
You line your pockets full of money
That you steal from the poor
And on your way down to hell
You'll hear me ring that bell
And I said, "Hell's comin' with me" (Hell's comin' with me)
If you had to categorize something from The Dull as a different entity what'd it be? I'm guessing lonely with a dash of spiral or vast?
Newborn Entities always pull from what was there before; the edges, the pieces that don’t quite fit, congealing together into something more harmonious. The Extinction pulled from pieces of the End, the Desolation, the Stranger, the Corruption. The Flesh pulled from the Hunt, the Slaughter, the End, the Stranger. But it all depends what aspects you look at.
The smothering conformity of the Dull pulls from the Web, the Buried and the Stranger. The unending aspect of it, from the Vast. Mind numbing repetition can be categorized under the Spiral. And finally, the Lonely works well with it, because genuine connections break the monotony of daily life.
Melodious Archivist Ishmael Ette @songs-for-entities - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
