Jukebox 2020 Letter

[singedsun]

In general for all stories I'm interested in fic that could be sexual, romantic or platonic of all ratings and styles. I love the play on lights and darks in stories, tough choices that don't always turn out the way you want them to, and it doesn't always have to have a happy ending. Most of the songs I requested tend toward the heartbreak or ending of things and I definitely enjoy darker stories both in theme and substance, so if you like writing those things, please feel free to go all out.

Things I enjoy in stories: fierce friendships, moral and sexual ambiguity, emotionally intense relationships without an acknowledged sexual relationship, big plot twists, music and literary references, acknowledgement of or changes in power dynamics, unreliable narrators, subversive religious ideals and relationships

Things I avoid: epistolary stories, gross/bodily humor, alcoholism, a/b/o, mpreg, parent kinks

Songs/Videos I'm requesting

I Found - Amber Run (Music Video)
Also worth noting that I am in love with the sound of this choral version of I found from Mahogany sessions. [YouTube]

CWs for this video: drugging, kidnapping, violence
The music video for this song [YouTube]and it's sequel video from the band for the song, Pilot [YouTube] you get this bizarre story of this man falling for this girl he's had a hand in kidnapping.

I would love a story about what's happening here, who these guys are, who this girl is and what exactly is going on with them. I also really love the heartbreaking sound of this song when it sounds more innocently of a man just falling for someone he shouldn't have, definitely a tonal difference between the lyrics themselves and the video concept. Either way, I would love for a story that explores that feeling of wanting someone you can't/shouldn't want. Even better if it's in such a strange story like the one portrayed in the video.

Dearly Departed - Shakey Graves (Music Video)
I also love this version of the song done live with Esme and Alejandro singing live at SXSW. [YouTube]

CWs for this video: drinking, death/suicide.
The music video for this song [YouTube] shows two presumed ghosts encouraging discord between a couple who both then die and begin the same cycle themselves. Despite the dark theme, both the song and the interactions in the video are upbeat, almost playful in a Beetlejuice kind of way.

I'd love a story that expands on any/all of the relationships in the video. Either the ghost couple, the newly broken-up couple or the newest couple to the house. I love this kind of Addams/Munsters/Beetlejuice kind of playful supernatural vibe and would love to see that explored.

If you're into mythology, the ghostly couple also has a very Ares / Eris or Discordia vibe which could be fun to explore as well.

How Dare You Make Me Love You - Kyan (Song)
I am wholeheartedly in love with this extremely sad song. [YouTube] or there's a shorter an extremely broken down soulful version from a Mahogany session. [YouTube]

Something that explores this regretful and hurt ending of a relationship. I've always sort of imagined it not as the explosive end to a relationship, but instead something careful done, a perhaps mutual ending for reasonable, logical reasons but something that hurts nonetheless. The kind of thing you do because you know it's the right decision to make for both people, even if it doesn't feel that way. There is almost one-sidedness or an unevenness based on the lyrics so maybe it's mutual but maybe it's also because of another relationship, or a circumstance that makes it the right decision.

Doesn't have to be that way though, I'm open to other interpretations of what's happening too. Feel free to use the official video as inspiration or not, it's the song itself that's most interesting to me here.

Oh GOD - Orla Gartland (Song)
Oh man, this song gives me so many feelings. [YouTube] (There is not an official music video for this song.)

I think the lyrics to this song indicate a few things: guilt regarding feelings about someone in the past, a current unhappy relationship, confusion related to religion and same sex interest. It feels very much like an exploration of what it's like to come to terms with some LGBT experience, like trying to figure out exactly what/who you like and having that be tangled up in a religious upbringing.

There's a lot that could be explored with that in a story, whether it's the current relationship, memories of whoever they're imaging/dreaming about from a time past. I do have a love of tangled up religious influences in stories so feel free to include as much as that as feels comfortable.

Gasoline - Jann Arden (Song)
The official version of this song from the Living Under June album isn't on YouTube or Spotify unfortunately, but there's a live version of the song that's pretty close to what the original sounds like. [YouTube] The lyrics are on Genius here

I've had such a love for this song since I first heard it almost twenty years ago. There's a lot up for interpretation here, so whatever you explore here as a writer will be interesting to me. To me, it feels like someone who feels their unworthy but wants to be in love with someone. Someone with regret about previous actions or relationships and is feeling exposed and guilty about what they've done.

What's always of focus to me anyway is this kind of metaphor about "holding out my heart" and letting sun or wisdom come over it. Which also oddly feels religious to me, like a sort of prayer for forgiveness. Again, happy to see whatever you might explore in all of this.

Alien Like You - The Pigott Brothers (Song)
You can find a video with the album version on [YouTube] and the lyrics are on genius here.

I love this song whether you take it literal or metaphorical it's about being an outsider and finding someone that feels like the same kind of outsider as you. Whether it's a requited feeling is uncertain here and I wouldn't mind a story about either option. I think there's a lot of opportunity to explore a supernatural or science fiction kind of story here, whether this is the song about two actual aliens or perhaps people with some kind of superpower finding each other.