A young man wakes up in the desert. The wreckage of an ambulance lies smashed against a boulder and charred to a crisp. By the stitches on his head and face, he assumes he was the patient. But why was an ambulance driving through a desert? Where wa...
"Course not. Behind the Lines, Duchess, and Guide Vocal are meant to form a suite. I have the taste to appreciate that."
Next was a slow, foggy flow of two-minute synthetic tracks in a cadenced, oneiric pattern, almost devoid of rhythm, engulfed in the sedate aura of the distant violins ascending in a gentle, heavenly loop. For a raw second, Skyler got a glimpse of the sea of clouds he plunged into before he woke up in the desert. He knew it was real when he missed. Then, an overture of incoming drums introduced the step in tone as the song formally broke, the first stanza surrounded by guitars. The verse washed by in twenty seconds and got to the chorus:
And she dreamed that every time she performed
Everyone would cry for more,
That all she had to do was step into the light,
And everyone would start to roar
Another twenty seconds of a new verse before the chorus struck back:
But now every time that she performed
Oh, everybody cried for more,
Soon all she had to do was step into the light,
For everyone to start to roar
Nadim raised his finger, beckoning his point.
And all the people cried, "You're the one we've waited for"
And he stopped the tape.
"That last verse. It fucks it all up."
"What's with that lyric?"
"It's nothing to do with the lyric. It's the tune. Up to that point, the song's in a crescendo. It's building up momentum. And that last verse just drops the bass line. It's like your hand cramping up when you're about to cum."
Skyler doubted for a second. He realized that now was the first time he actually saw a point to this.
"Yeah, I think I get you."
"Finally, someone with me on this one."
"But so what? It's nuts! You're asking him to rewrite the whole song."
"Not the whole song. Just that final line. The tone in it. I want him to change both."
"I'm guessing you wouldn't be as hell-bent on this one if you didn't already have a suggestion for him."
"Of course, I have one. I always thought of something like, 'on her throne,'" he sang liltingly as he lowered his tone, "'she was all alone.'"
Skyler remained silent, trying to mask his bafflement with graciousness.
"It's all about the blend with the other instruments. The synthesizer dropping to the beat. Without it, you're just hearing someone who seems like he just snapped."
The exit was already at hand. Some part of Skyler thanked it. Some other part just wished this chat would never stop.
"If that's it, why not just send him a letter?"
Nadim bit his lip, fully invested in his own world.
"How many letters do these guys get? How many times do they listen to them? I'll get nothing if I'm just a fan. That's why I have to be famous, too. For us to be on the same level. For him to heed me."
"You think he'll heed you?"
"Yeah. I'll be really famous."
"Then how're you gonna do it? What's your plan?"
"I'm the main editor of the cultural section of the Atlas Aid Uncut. I also create the articles in which the messages are embedded."
"You're the one who does that? That puts my craft to shame."
Whatever it was. But Skyler was convinced it was true.
"Atticus wants me to be chief editor soon. He says my writing's refreshing and raw. That many people will like it. And it has to look like a regular magazine, so we have to keep publishing issues, even when there's no message to send. The more popular it gets, the less conspicuous it is to send issues all over the world. I want to take a more general approach. Blend it all in a multi-topic magazine, accessible to everyone. A way to diversify resources to catch new pools. Those new readers will read about their respective topics, but then they'll read the rest. Since they're not proficient, it'll kick start their curiosity, and they'll be hooked. And that's it. The issues will gather large masses, like forming a star, and before we know it, the magazine will have its own cultural solar system. And then I'll be able to talk to whoever I want. Because I'll be famous."
"So, your plan's becoming Hugh Hefner. If you get like that for a song like this, I won't even ask you about the B-side."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
