#misd

[iratempestatis]

WAIT final post!! sorry i'll be gone soon i promise!! but do tell me about all your favorite hq chars please, whether we're mutuals or not <333

[redfoxwritesstuff]

[redfoxwritesstuff]

LOOK AT THIS AMAZING BOOK COVER THE WONDERFUL @redvexillum did for MisD! It comes with a matching banner you’ll see on all MisD posts now.

The symbolism behind her choices is amazing. A true love letter from a reader to my pride and joy of a fic. As you may now, she also drafted the current MisD banner and I’m so excited to see how her vision of the fic has evolved as chapters rolled out. 

We have Dandelions which represent hope, transformation and strength. Some are scattered in the wind, oh how fleeting those things can be. Plus, who hasn’t picked a dandelion and made a wish on the fluff before blowing, sending the wish out into the world, even as an adult? (those of us who live where they grow, at least)

The black and white is so 1920’s entertainment, such a classic touch. It also references how morality is colored in shades of gray. 

Red bloodstains, stark and bright. What better sign of murder and passion! 

Then we have all the cracks in the background, everything breaking apart. The perfect image of lives lived and everything that hides under the surface. 

Needless to say, I love it. I love everything that MisD has grown to become. I cannot express to you, my lovely followers, how much it means to me that you’ve let my little story touch your hearts, even for a moment. 

Thank you to each and every one of you for reading. 

Thank you to each and every one of you that has commented.

And thank you Red, for loving MisD as much as I do.

Read chapter 1 on tumblr here or on AO3

[mtul-c]

A Brief Overview of Fundamental Classifications of Computer Architecture

SISD – Single Instruction, Single Data Stream :In the SISD architecture, systems execute one instruction at a time on a single data stream. Think of it as a traditional computer that performs tasks sequentially, like following a recipe step by step. For example, your personal computer processes instructions and data in a SISD manner, handling tasks one after another.MISD – Multiple Instructions,…

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[thestorybehindourmusic]

Woodstock; Santana

     For a while now The Story Behind our Music shows have been about some of the singers and bands that played Woodstock in 1969. I took a break from Woodstock last week to remember American Pie, by Don Mclean, but this week we are traveling back to the 3 day music festival of Peace and Music.

    The lineup for Woodstock 50 was finally made public. It is an amazing list of now popular acts along with many acts that performed at the show in 1969. The theme is very similar to the vision of the original festival, this time their catch phrase “Peace, Love, Music for the People, for the Planet.” One of the acts that was at the original show and is scheduled to return this August is Santana. Santana was a band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1966 and was definitely a struggling band. They had a latin fusion jazz sound that was far from mainstream.

    The group's first audition was at the Avalon Ballroom in the late summer of 1967, and after the audition, the promoter of the event, told the band that they would never make it in the San Francisco Music Scene playing Latin fusion. He even suggested Carlos Santana, the bands founder and namesake, keep his day job washing dishes at Tick Tock's Drive-In on 3rd Street. 

    Santana began work on its debut album, but things were still strained as one of the bands members had been convicted of manslaughter and was serving his sentence in San Quentin State Prison.

    Leading up to  Woodstock, Bill Graham, a very famous music promoter in San Francisco was asked to help with planning the festival. Graham agreed to lend his help only if a new band he was promoting, an unknown band called Santana, could have a spot in the show. Santana learned that they would be one of the performers at the Woodstock Festival and started recording their 1969 debut album in May and finished it in a month.

    Santana played on day 2 of Woodstock and had an amazing set. Many fans and critics agree that “Soul Sacrifice” was the pinnacle performance of the 3 day event.

    Woodstock.com remembers their performance this way, “With their debut album not yet released, Santana was relatively unknown. Their powerful, magical, transformative performance changed that. Carlos led his band with virtuosic style and drummer Michael Shrieve brought it all home during Soul Sacrifice.”

    Santana stopped struggling and found their audience. They went on to have other hits, including “Black Magic Woman”. In 1998 the band was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling groups of all time. And all this happened because a  group of talented guys wanted to play their own style of music and a famous promoter called in a favor to get them a spot in the big show.. 

Here is a more recent version of “Black Magic Woman performed by a much more mature Carlos Santana.

[thestorybehindourmusic]

American Pie

     If you are a regular listener to my show you will know that for the last several weeks I have been concentrating on the music and artists of Woodstock; as the 50th anniversary of the festival is coming up this summer. I have been filling you in on some of the behind the music stories, both good and bad, of the acts at the show billed as 3 days of “Peace and Music”. However this week I’m going to take a break from Woodstock, because 4 years ago last week the manuscript of a true american musical icon was sold at auction for 1.2 million dollars. The manuscript was the lyrics in the original writing of Don McLean’s biggest hit. At 8 and ½ minutes long the song was considered an anthem and many radio stations would only play a shortened version of the song. I believe that most people are familiar that with the song that I’m referring to, American Pie. I think we have all heard his crazy and cryptic lyrics about “bye bye Ms. American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry”, and the repeated line about “the day the music died”, but what was his meanings?

     McLean said in a Christie’s catalogue ahead of the sale, “I thought it would be interesting as I reach age 70 to release this work product on the song American Pie so that anyone who might be interested will learn that this song was not” just a game to see who could remember all the lyrics.  He said it was actually “an indescribable photograph of America that I tried to capture in words and music.”

     That photograph was always a little bit blurry. At more than 800 words, the meaning of “American Pie” proved elusive except for maybe the part about when “the Music died”. That being when three up and coming musicians were killed in an airplane crash in 1959. Those 3 musicians were Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Holly was just 22 and Valens a mere 17.

What does it all mean? According to Mclean; the end of the American Dream.

     “Basically in ‘American Pie,’ things are heading in the wrong direction,” he also told Christie’s, “It is becoming less idyllic. I don’t know whether you consider that wrong or right but it is a morality song in a sense.”

     “I was around in 1970 and now I am around in 2015,” McLean said, to People Magazine. “There is no poetry and very little romance in anything anymore, so it is really like the last phase of ‘American Pie'. ”

     Well, truth be told there was no romance in Mclean’s decision to sell the manuscript either, it was simply about the money. He told Rolling Stone Magazine “I’m going to be 70 this year, I have two children and a wife… I want to get the best deal that I can for them. It’s time.” (American pie)

     Just as a side note in 2017, McLean's original recording was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant".

Here are the complete Lyrics, see what you think.

American Pie

Don McLean

A long long time ago I can still remember how That music used to make me smile And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver Bad news on the doorstep I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride Something touched me deep inside The day the music died

SoBye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love And do you have faith in God above If the Bible tells you so? Do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew I was out of luck The day the music died I started singin' Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Now, for ten years we've been on our own And moss grows fat on a rolling stone But, that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean And a voice that came from you and me 

Oh and while the king was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned No verdict was returned And while Lennon read a book on Marx The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died

We were singin' Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with a fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume While sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance' Cause the players tried to take the field The marching band refused to yield Do you recall what was revealed The day the music died?

We started singin' Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye And singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place A generation lost in space With no time left to start again So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend Oh and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in Hell Could break that Satan's spell And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw Satan laughing with delight The day the music died

He was singin' Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldn't play And in the streets the children screamed The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken And the three men I admire most The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died

And they were singing Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die This'll be the day that I die

They were singing Bye, bye Miss American Pie Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye Singin' this'll be the day that I die

Source: LyricFindSongwriters: Don McLeanAmerican Pie lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Spirit Music Group

[thestorybehindourmusic]

Woodstock; Sha-na-na

My The Story Behind our Music shows for the last several weeks have been about Woodstock ‘69 and reflecting on some of the acts that performed there. There were rock bands, folk bands, and maybe one or two “experimental psychedelic pop fusion really doesn't fit into a genre bands”, but the band that was so different from any of the other bands was Sha-na-na. Sha-na-na wasn’t a band with a hippie, counterculture, anti-war, anti establishment kinda band, in fact they were a ‘50’s cover band, meaning all of the songs that they performed were already made famous by someone else. 

The group started as an acapella group called the Kingsmen from Columbia University in New York City, kinda like the ones you might be familiar with from the movie “Pitch Perfect”. They had a name change because another group with the same name had a hit song “Louie, Louie”. (play Get-a-job) One of their favorite songs to perform was this one called “get a job” and they took some of the nonsensical words from that and used it for their new name, Sha na na.

Sha-na-na was kind of a novelty at Woodstock and the producers only included 90 seconds of their set in the original Woodstock film. But it must have been a good minute and a half because it launched their career. They, as some people say, were the catalyst that created the huge 50’s nostalgia of the 1970’s. After Woodstock they opened for groups like The Grateful Dead and even headlined a show where a guy named Bruce Springsteen, you might have heard that name, opened for them. 

Their fame continued to grow and in 1977 they starred in a syndicated variety TV show that lasted 4 years and was the most watched syndicated show at the time. 

The band probably reached the height of their fame when they were asked to be part of the 1978 film version of Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-john. They performed many of the songs on the soundtrack and were in the film as “Johnny Casino and the Gamblers”.

Though many members have come and gone the band is still active and is still doing some touring today. 

These guys made the Woodstock crowd smile and sing along with songs that they were already familiar with. They had no political message, no agenda, just the ability to make fun music and the charisma to pull it off, and that has been their claim to fame ever since. Fact is, they were scheduled to be back for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock Series at Bethel Woods, NY, the scene of the 1st festival. Sadly, the 50th Anniversary at Bethel Woods nor Woodstock 50 happened.

[thestorybehindourmusic]

Woodstock; Blood, Sweat & Tears

   The Story Behind our Music’s past few shows have been about some of the singers and bands that played Woodstock in 1969. Recently the lineup for Woodstock 50 was made public. It is an amazing list of now popular acts along with many acts that performed the show in 1969. The theme is very similar to the vision of the original festival, this time their catch phrase “Peace, Love, Music for the People, for the Planet.” One of the names that seems to have been left off the list of performers at Woodstock 2019 is Blood, Sweat and Tears. 

   There were some unusual acts at Woodstock and Blood, Sweat and Tears was definitely one-of-a-kind in 1969. The festival had it’s rock bands, it’s psychedelic bands, it’s folk bands, a doo-wop band and even a band called “The Band”, but that will be a later show. Yet Blood, Sweat and Tears really wasn’t any of those. The bands style was later labeled as Jazz-rock or “brass-rock” or even “Trumpet-rock”, but they were quite unique at the time. The only band that had attempted a blend like this was a group called The Buckinghams, and they only had some mild success. 

   The group came together in 1967 with members from both the US and Canada and started playing gigs in New York City. They were getting quite popular with the local crowds when Columbia records signed them to a contract and they released their first album. It was called Child is Father to the Man, and reached #47 on the Billboard magazine “Pop Album Charts”. It was an unusual album with an unusual cover, that must have taken quite some time cutting and pasting to create. The cover shows the band members holding children in their laps, the strange part is that the band members head’s have been morphed on to the child they are holding.I think it is actually a little creepy.

   As the album slowly gained popularity, behind the scenes the band was falling apart. The keyboardist and lead singer, Al Kooper, left because some of the other members didn’t want him to sing on any more recordings. The group’s trumpeters left to join another band leaving this “trumpet-rock” band without trumpets. But, as you figured, a new trumpet section was hired and with the help of singer Judy Collins, they found a new singer as well. Ms. Collins, who just happened to know about an amazing singer with an unusual voice and the fact that BS&T was looking for someone to fill that roll, brought David Clayton-Thomas and Blood, Sweat and Tears together. This was it, the sound that they had been wanting. In late 1968 BS&T released their second album. The record quickly hit the top of the charts and won Album of the Year at the Grammys. It had some serious competition for that award too, as the Beatles' Abbey Road, was among the other nominees. 

That album was simply titled “Blood, Sweat & Tears, and three hit singles were released from it. "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel", and "And When I Die". 

   So, when Blood, Sweat and Tears took the stage at Woodstock, they were at the top of their game and were one of the headliners at the music festival.

   The next few years were tough on the band and it struggled with many member changes in the next few years. The band did release more albums with catchy names like; “Blood, Sweat and Tears 3”, and “Blood, sweat and Tears 4” and had a few more hits like “Hi-De-Ho” in 1970. They also struggled with their image because after Woodstock they voluntarily went on a US Department of State sponsored tour in Eastern Europe, and that was seen as “selling out” to the “counterculture” of the 1960’s. Then in 1972 David Clayton-Thomas, took what had become their signature voice and left to pursue a solo career.

   But the band did survive and is still alive today. Although there are no remaining members from the glory days, they are still touring and making audiences smile by doing something very few bands had tried before them, and that is, combining Rock music with an amazing horn section to create a signature sound. It has been done since, but Blood, Sweat and Tears was the original to succeed at it.