(TOAD COLLECTIVE~TASTE OF TOAD~SECOND ISSUE)
Welcome to July’s manic reflections. I have been keeping a journal this month and at only 24 days in I feel my productivity and sanity have increased by at least 25-40%. This months track pick might be a bit sterile compared to others I’ve chosen closer to the brink of losing my grip- however, I invite you to dip yourself into the serenity this song has brought me in my time of radical proficiency and nihilistic gratitude. What follows is an ode to Toad, and the sweat-glazed, rectangle-glasses-wearing-preteen who gawked over fictional Norwegian boys falling in love.
₍ᐢ=– ̮ –=ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡
**𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 𓆏 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 𓆏 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊**
Nils Bech O Helga Natt (Official Audio) - DFA RECORDS.mp3
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Nils Bech has a beautiful falsetto. The tenor to end all tenors. The mixing on this track is gorgeous. I cry every time the cello blooms at the end of the chorus. Nils was made famous by his appearance on a Norwegian TV series where he performed this piece live.
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I found this piece due to my deep unwavering obsession with a hit Norwegian TV series called “SKAM,” (which translates to “SHAME” in English). The show followed a different main character and their love interest each season, but the main character always stayed within the same core friend group. This was nice, because if you became unhealthily attached to a character or their partner they weren’t simply written off at the end of their season-and they’d often become one of the main supporting characters for the next season. “SKAM” was one of the first shows I fan-girled HARD over and one of the first representations of queer love I found myself relating to in my adolescence.
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The series had an innovative format where clips and Instagram posts from characters would be released in real time on a blog. At the week's end, these clips were compiled into a full episode and aired. This show really molded my early adolescence, and as the final season came out me and my best friend in middle school would download translated clips from Tumblr and sit in the back of class to watch them as soon as they released. It was me, my obsession, my state issued Chromebook, and GoogleDrive against the world.
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I gained thousands of Tumblr followers during this time by reposting hundreds of GIFs and fan theories about the show daily, and I didn’t tell a soul- not even my friend who had the same obsession. I’d give anything to be able to recover that account. I’m not sure why I kept it to myself. If you listen to this song- just know it’s special to me.
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