Video; un: rtozier

[summertimeblues]

[The feed begins with a man in his late thirties, one hand welded to his forehead in consternation. Adjacent is a swanky looking turntable, and stacks of records can be seen on a table behind the sofa. The titles are indiscernible but it looks to be a ballpark of about fifty albums.

He stares into the camera, desolate.]

All right kids, I'll concede: my folks would have cracked my radio if they heard how much I let The Doors holler out of it. I know it's a pattern and every generation thinks the one after it is a tasteless pack of miscreants. And I've been keeping an open mind. I can't afford not to. Music was my job, and for the most part the stuff hitting the airwaves had been pretty solid. Whoever's been picking out tunes for me up above has been doing pretty damn swell so far, too. Soundgarden was great, Lauren Hill, the Alabama Shakes — there's a lot of good shit I've missed out on because my apocalypse hit so early.

[He takes a deep breath.]

But today, I need an explanation.

[He takes a record out of a sleeve. Sets it on the player and closes his eyes in bitter resignation as the thing gets rolling.

His jaw clenches tight as the music starts.

"Hiya Barbie!"
"Hi Ken!"
"Do you wanna go for a ride?"
"Sure Ken!"
"Jump in!"
"I'M A BARBIE GIRL! IN A BARBIE WO-O-ORLD! LIFE IN PLASTIC, IT'S FANTASTIC!!"

A comely but irate redheaded woman stomps into the background.]

If you don’t shut that off, there’s going to be cats clawing at our window to check out who’s dying!

[Richie rips the record off, vein pulsing in his forehead.]

Music is dying, Bev! It's over! We've lost the war!

[She scoffs, disappearing once more. Richie looks to the camera.

He snaps the record in two with a malicious crack and tosses the pieces behind him.]

I don't know who allowed this to happen, but you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

[The video cuts out. Please deposit your apologies and condolences below.]

Comments

[summertimeblues]

[Oh dear. Richie cackles at her summation, hand coming to his mouth to still the mirth.]

Maybe they had a cattle prod on him in case he went off key.

[Jokes aside, he doesn't think she's likely to come around to anything much wilder than a two step. Hold the Judas Priest and lock the door on Grandmaster Flash.]

It's an unfettered expression of passion. Music started taking different shapes when I was a kid, it got to be more about what made you turn loose, go primal. My parents couldn't stand it, but me and every generation after? Us heathens lived for it. If the rest of your life has to be lived on best behavior, why not let the tunes act wild for you?

Of course most us still found our own time to misbehave, but that's human nature for you. Can't be helped.

[unprays]

[ stevie wonder, one of the greatest singers of all time: sounds like he's stubbing his toe. please never make her listen to michael jackson

she actually listens to his explanation, and on a certain level, it makes sense: from what she knows, a life like the one she's known isn't common for many that come from times from beyond hers, a life where death is ever-present, men walk around with swords and bows, and murder is answered with murder. ]

There seem to be worse ways to misbehave than mixing screaming with singing.

[ then, after a pause, ] Thank you, ser, for educating me. I learn new things every day, or so it feels.

[summertimeblues]

Oh there is. [He's thinking of the sins of the sixties, the romp of the seventies, the excess of what he knows in the eighties. Drugs and parties and girls and money spent badly. Richie doesn't imagine there was much fun to be had in the middle ages, even if the extent of Westorosi cruelty is beyond his comprehension. He knows of her situation through the skeletal frame of history. Torture and famine and rogues and mad kings couldn't be put to page without being diluted.

If he were to use his torture and subsequent death a mere month prior as a basis, he might get her meaning more clearly. But he doesn't, and so the thought is blown away in the easy breeze of conversation.]

You and me both, sister. I'm as much a fish out of water in Olympia as you are with the phone and twentieth century music. But hey, if you ever feel the need to get your ear blown off? You know where to find me.

[He shrugs, smiling wide.]

But my little feelings won't be hurt if you don't.

[He'll save Stevie's toe-stubbing agony for those that would appreciate it. You can't sway taste so easily, no matter how much music nuts like himself might itch to.]

[unprays]

[ she raises her eyebrows at being called sister, until she figures it must be another weird new thing of calling people that she doesn't know, like Rocket calling her "princess", and Kagari adding the strange "chan" at the end of her name. ]

I'm sure you're doing your feelings a disservice by calling them "little".

[ but as... not quite impressed as she is with his modern music, she enjoys Richie's sense of humor. ] Perhaps I'll find you regardless.